Frosted Hearts
by Phillip the Shinx
Summary: I want to say I love him, but that's not quite right. I want to say I hate him as well, but that's not right either. What is this feeling? Love him or hate him, it doesn't change the fact that my heart of ice is melting...and breaking. Yaoi. M/M.
1. Frost

**BCY: Soooo, hi peoples! For those of you who know me, I'm BCY, and I would like to warn all of you that this fanfic you are about to read is rated M because of my perverted mind. Not that it's a bad thing. Unlike my other story, ****Frosted Hearts**** will revolve more around romantic relationships than fighting, beating people up, and all that good stuff. For those of you who like stories with a little less romance and a more heavy duty plot, you can check out my other fanfic, ****Eve of Viridia.**** Sigh, I suck at intros.**

**Disclaimer: I OWN POKEMON! Sigh, if only… T^T**

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><p>The sky above the forest reflected the pack leader's mood as she stood silently along the riverbed with her two subordinates. The rain pounded the three relentlessly, and the scent of wet earth stung the noses of the three canines. The weather made things all the less pleasant; still, they watched the river of water rush by without emotion, waiting.<p>

The leader lifted her head suddenly as the sound of rasping breaths reached her ears. Her companions followed her gaze upstream, staring intently at the weak, helpless body spluttering violently as it was washed down with the flow of the water. One of them rushed out without a second thought and, as gently as possible, pulled the battered kit out of the water by the scruff of his neck. The other subordinate spat rudely as his companion brought the newcomer before their leader.

"I can't believe we're actually letting this worthless piece of dirt into our clan," The voice hissed. The owner of the voice was, needless to say, utterly disgusted at the prospect of even looking at the wet creature that had been badly beaten by the rushing waters of the river. His companion gave him a meaningful look as he gently placed it under a dry patch of grass under a large oak tree.

"Loosen up, big brother. Cloud has done much to assist our clan in its time of need. Now that he's passed away, this is the least we can do to repay him." The canine nudged the shivering kit gently. "We better get this youngster back to camp before he catches a cold." He said. He looked toward their leader for a sign of approval.

The leader stayed silent before slowly shaking her head. "No, you two shall go back on your own. I will stay here to guard him until he wakes." When answered with questioning looks she replied, "Unlike you, Noru, not everyone in our clan will be as accepting. This kit was born in a human place, after all. It would be much easier for him if he arrived consciously instead of being taken there without knowing where he was."

Both subordinates bowed respectfully before taking their leave. As they slowly faded into the rainy forest like the ghosts within shadows, the clan leader fixed her eyes back on the child shivering under the tree. She sighed and nudged him closer to the shelter of the oak with her nose.

"Cloud meant well, and I will keep my promise to him. But I am not sure whether or not you will find a place among our kind." The unconscious form's breathing slowly came to an even pace as sleep overtook him. Even so, his expression was far from peaceful. "Good luck, young Frost."

**(…)**

Noru blinked as the rays of the morning sun penetrated the thick forest leaves that reached out over the camp, giving its occupants a warm stirring for the start of a new day. Though being a Ninetails and a fire type makes him rather susceptible to water, Noru nonetheless enjoyed the earthly smell of the forest after rainfall. His brother always complained that it stung his nose, but then again, his brother complained at everything.

He shook the last few bits of drowsiness out of his eyes as he stretched and yawned. Shaking himself a bit, he made his way out of his den and breathed in the fresh air of his clan's camp. The fire type raised his eyebrows in wonder when he saw his older brother pacing back and forth in the main area of the their den site.

"Good morning, big brother." Noru greeted, with a curious air. "What brings you up so early in the morning? You're usually the last one to wake up!" He giggled slightly to himself at the last comment.

His brother gave him a weak glare before heaving a large sigh. "First of all, quit calling me 'big brother.' We're twins and I'm only older than you by a few minutes." Noru opened his mouth to protest, but the older male quickly cut him off. "Second of all, what do you mean I'm the last one to get up? You make me sound like a lazy bag of fat!"

"Well it's kinda true…" Noru pouted quietly. His brother ignored him.

"And third of all," The older Ninetails' expression shifted to a disgusted frown. "I'm still at a complete lost to why the hell Dusk would let that damn Glaceon into our clan! It's a disgrace!"

"Kara!" Noru blurted his sibling's name out in shock. "Dusk is our Alpha! Show some respect!" His brother let out an irritated huff but said nothing. "And please don't give that Glaceon a hard time. That little guy isn't even here yet!"

The younger Ninetails sighed with a childish pout on his face as his brother continued to skulk. He trotted up to him and brushed up against Kara's pelt playfully with his tails. Noru giggled as his brother bit his lips to stop himself from laughing from the younger fire type's tickling. Kara's mouth finally curled up into a small grin when he received a friendly lick on the cheek.

"Great! I like it better when you smile," Noru laughed happily and nuzzled his neck in a friendly way before reluctantly scampered away from his brother's side to perform his daily duties. Kara watched his retreating back as he left. Although they were twins, they were not exactly identical. Noru was much younger looking that his brother, and retained a rather carefree and friendly look in his face over the years. His brother, on the other hand, was stern and looked like someone that you definitely wouldn't want to cross. His looks even scared a few newborn kits and pups back to their mothers' sides on more than a few occasions. And so they should be. Kara was one of the fiercest warriors of the pack, fiercer than Noru, fiercer than their Alpha, fiercer than anyone there was. Out of everyone in the pack, only Noru has ever seen the soft side of him. Smiling and laughing like he had been this morning was actually a rare thing, and Noru cherished it well.

The difference did not pertain to only their personalities. While the younger sibling's fur had a nice, clean and shiny light to it, Kara's pelt had the same tint but darker considerable around the edges. Not only that, though they both shared the same deep red eyes, the younger sibling's were bright like flickering flames while Kara's were a deep blood red. Noru had heard superstitious elders talking about how twins like they usually ended up as enemies.

Ha! They didn't know how wrong they were, Noru thought cheerfully laughing to himself as he made his way toward the den of his apprentices. Though Kara was rather pushy and harsh, he was nonetheless his perfect brother. He only had that cold outer shell to protect him image as a strong warrior, but anyone could tell that he care deeply about his younger brother. Noru always felt all warm and bubbly around him, thankful knowing that would change his brother's affection toward him.

The Ninetails knocked on the entrance of the den three times before poking his head in and sighed in exasperation. His apprentices were all asleep except for Grey, who was missing from the scene and was probably in the medicine den with Fern. Ren was snoring like a foghorn as usual, but luckily his den-mates were all used to the Luxio's sleeping habits by now and were all undisturbed. Noru prodded Pine awake first, since he was the easiest to wake and the resulting noise would probably wake Ren up as well. The Linoone immediately jumped up and snapped out of his sleeping state when Noru prodded him with his nose. How the normal type woke up so quickly was beyond him, but he felt at lost when his apprentice bounced up and down off the den walls as his hyperactive nature took hold.

"Mmph…Pine, stop being such a brat and shut up! Some people are trying to sleep here..." Ren mumbled and buried his head in his nest of dry grass. The Linoone giggled before pouncing on his denmate.

"Aw come on Ren! It's morning! Besides, you're the only one still asleep!" Pine laughed while jumping up and down on his friend's back like it was a pillow.

"No…" The Luxio yawned sleepily. "There's Grey…"

"He's in the medicine den."

"Fern?"

"He's with Grey."

"Noru?"

"I'm right here," The Ninetails laughed.

Ren leaped up in surprise. "Wah? Sorry! Didn't know you were here already!" He yelped at his mentor, blushing lightly under his fur in embarrassment. Noru only laughed and ruffled his apprentice's fur.

"Geez, no need to freak out. It's not like this is the first time," The mentor smiled good-naturedly. "Just get ready, cuz today we're the ones on hunting patrol."

"Yes sir!" Ren bowed respectfully and made his way outside with Pine happily following. As they entered the main area of the camp, the wind of the forest stirred the many leaves that littered the ground sending them airborne and twirling in the sky. Other clan members had woken up as well and were all gathering in front of the large rock where their Alpha usually gave the rest of the clan their morning announcements. There was much whispering and excited chatter going around as the news of Dusk apparently leaving yesterday evening and not returning after dark spread through the clan.

Kara made his way to the rock and stood before the rest of the clan and cleared his throat. "For those of you who are wondering, our Alpha has gone off on a mission of sorts yesterday and will be returning shortly sometime today. For now, we shall tend to our regular duties until she comes back."

Murmurs and puzzled looks were well present through the crowd. Mission? What kind of mission? Many of the elders exchanged knowing nods while the younger warriors and apprentices were whispering possibilities of what such mission that would require the sole attention of their Alpha herself.

Kara waited patiently for the commotion to die down before continuing. "And also, we may expect a new clan member today." The Ninetails sneered. "When he arrives, let us all give him a…warm welcome."

Noru shot his brother a meaningful look. Was he _trying_ to make things difficult? The chattering crowd slowly began to disperse as he walked up to his elder sibling.

"Big brother, why do you have to be such a grump?" Noru whined quietly so that no one would hear him. "At least try to sound like you care."

"I have no respect, nor patience for a useless piece of dirt like that," Kara hissed, clearly irritated. "What a disgrace it would be to our clan! Oh, and by the way," He shot a glare at his sibling as he walked away. "Stop calling me 'big brother!' It's demeaning!"

Noru smiled slightly to himself at his brother's retreating figure. It was quite fun to get under his fur like that. He shook his head and turned towards his apprentices, who were both waiting patiently at their meeting spot.

"Hey Noru, do you know anything about who the new person is?" Pine hopped up and down excitedly as his mentor walked up to them. The Ninetails sighed.

"I do, but all I can say to you two is to be nice. This newcomer has had some bad experiences, so I hope you two can make him feel more at home here in our clan." Noru said. Pine nodded, his kid-like face beaming. Ren, on the other hand, just rolled his eyes.

"Oh, so our Alpha's letting him in because she feels bad for him. I was hoping it was someone who was actually strong." The Luxio murmured with disappointment. "Never thought that our Alpha would let in a weakling."

"I said he's had some bad experiences, but I never said he was weak," Noru laughed. "Come on, let's get hunting. Otherwise Kara will have our heads." With a flick of his tails, the Ninetails was off with his apprentices at following closely.

The three of them bounded through the clearing that was their camp and into the wilderness of the forest. The smell of the trees and grass quickly swept over their noses and grew stronger the deeper they went.

Ren looked up suddenly and silently dropped to a crouch. Noru eyed him intently and hushed Pine, telling him to watch. The Luxio quietly crawled on his stomach, ignoring the tickling of the grass and moved towards a bush. Abruptly, with a roar, he launched himself forward and pounced on something behind the large plant.

"Nice catch," Noru commented when his apprentice stood up proudly, a squirrel caught neatly in his teeth. "But make sure to stay a little more downwind next time, Ren. Otherwise the squirrel would of smelled you before you could catch it."

"Yes sir," Ren bowed slightly before dropping the dead squirrel on the forest floor and burying it, keeping it hidden until they came back for it later. Their mentor cleared his throat to get both of their attention.

"Ok, so you two will continue hunting on your own. I trust that you'll manage?" Pine and Ren nodded in unison. Noru smiled pleasantly. "Good. There's something I need to do, so just catch as much as you can and meet me back here at noon. Got it?"

The two younger clan members nodded once more before making their way deeper into the forest. The Ninetails watched their retreating backs and waited until they were out of earshot before scampering north towards the mountain.

Dusk, their Alpha was not present in the clan at the moment, so it was important to make sure the clan's territory was secure and that no intruder would try and attack in their moment of weakness. Especially the Ishi, a clan that inhabited the mountains in the north. They have been the enemies of Noru's clan, the Carina for as long as the two clans had existed. There was no telling what they would be thinking if they hear that the Alpha of their enemy clan was absent from the area. Without Dusk's command, their clan would be without order, and the chance of a successful attack rose significantly. Noru was definitely not going to let that happen, so he took it upon himself to keep an eye on his adversaries.

The Ninetails inhaled deeply as he neared the borders of the clan territory. The trees near the base of the mountain were not as thick, allowing more air to flow and smells easily identified. There were scents of Ren and Pine, who both were probably still hunting nearby. But there was also that unfamiliar scent of members of the Ishi, still fresh. This can't be good.

"Hey you!" A raspy and rather unfriendly voice suddenly growled. Noru's hackles immediately rose as his muscles tensed, ready for a fight. He was instantly surrounded by five unfamiliar pokemon, all of them with bared teeth and clear aggression. "What is a Carina mutt doing so close to our territory?" It was not a question, but a demand.

"I was merely patrolling the border of my clan, which the four of you have clearly crossed," Noru snapped. "I am very curious as to why the members of your pack are so uneducated, to the point where you would ignore the Code of the Clans and enter others' territories without their permission. Your actions are liable to cause a war!"

The five intruders were taken aback, but quickly regained their composure. "If we kill you now, there'd be no witnesses," One of them smirked. The Ninetails took a quick glance around. There were two Arcanine, two Houndoom and a Houndour, which means four against one. The odds were definitely not on his side. If he were to fight them without any sort of backup whatsoever, the chances of winning are slim. Noru snarled threateningly as his adversaries circled closer like sharks around helpless prey.

"Noru! Sir, are you alright?" His attackers instinctively jumped out of the way as a large thunderbolt flew and landed right where they were standing moments before. The Ninetails heaved a sigh of relief as Ren came bounding along. "I was hunting around here when I heard you. So there are intruders huh?" The Luxio sneered, showing off his fangs. The apprenticed was literally itching for a fight. Noru could tell that they were getting somewhat unnerved from Ren's bloodlust.

The ground underneath one of the Arcanine's feet suddenly exploded, sending him flying. Where he once stood was a large hole that had been dug deep into the ground. Pine's laughing echoed through the forest as he came crawling out. "You guys weren't gonna have all the fun without me, were ya?"

_Now the odds are more even, _Noru gritted his teeth as rabid thoughts ran through his mind. And now Pine was using Substitute to add another fighter on their side. The apprentices, including the Substitute doppelganger, could take on the two Houndoom and Houndour while he himself took on the two Arcanine. The Ninetails didn't know how long they would last, but this would have to do.

With a roar, he launched himself at one of the large canine dogs while nine small embers formed on the tips of his tails. Knocking the intruder off his feet, Noru landed lightly and in a split second, the other Arcanine was enveloped in flames. The mentor glanced up slightly. His apprentices were doing well, exchanging bites and claws with their enemies. But however strong they were, the two of them were still apprentices. They would never be able to finish the Ishi clan members off, no matter how badly they're beaten. Noru frowned, his eyes clouded with worry as he watched his two apprentices fight.

A sudden snarl snapped him out of his thoughts. He was abruptly thrown to the ground when the angry canine beneath him recovered from his initial attack. He gasped in pain when he was firmly held down, rough claws digging into his shoulders. The Arcanine bared his fangs ferociously and lunged at the fox's throat for the killing blow. The Ninetails reacted quicker. With a swift breath, the firedog's eyes saw nothing but the heat of flames. He yowled in agony and scurried away with his tail between his legs. Without his eyes, he was finished.

Scrambling onto his feet, Noru prepared to fire another shot at the remaining Arcanine when a cold voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Don't move."

The mentor froze, the flames in his mouth fading. Cold sweat dripped down his fur as he glared at the speaker. It seemed like Pine's Substitute was torn down. The Linoone, along with Ren were both pinned down by their attackers, blood dripping harshly out of their wounds. The two Houndoom sneered threateningly.

"Make any sudden movements and their heads come off." They snarled dangerously. Noru gulped. What was he to do? He couldn't bear to let his apprentices get hurt. Ren was already unconscious with a nasty bump on his head, while Pine was looking at him with pleading eyes.

_Run! _The normal type mouthed anxiously. It was like a stab in the Ninetails' heart. How could he think of running and leaving his students behind to die? It was unthinkable! But what was there to do? Noru gritted his teeth in frustration as the Arcanine behind him prepared a Flamethrower.

The next series of evens came so suddenly that the mentor couldn't even tell what was going on. Right as their attacker breathed out another fireball; a Razor Wind flew rapidly out of nowhere and extinguished it into a cloud of smoke. Another one came and threw the Houndoom on top of Ren high into the air, leaving the Luxio unscratched. Noru gasped in both surprise and relief to see their clan's Alpha dashing up to meet them. The Absol's long pelt gleamed in the sunlight as she launched another attack at the Arcanine beside him with ease, knocking him out as well.

Pine's captor panicked and, without thinking, lunged for his hostage's neck. The terrified Linoone let out a shriek, as the devil dog's fangs came inches away from his throat.

But the pain never came. In a split second, the Houndoom was knocked off his feet with his muzzle somehow sealed shut with a casing of ice. It stumbled backwards, eyes flickering around desperately trying to find his attacker, but was roughly struck on the head and slammed to the ground with an Iron Tail.

You would expect Pine to be quite shaken up by almost dying a few moments ago, but of curse, this is Pine we're talking about here. The little trooper's face broke into a childish grin and he immediately tackled his savior in a glomping hug, all the while screaming, "Oh my Arceus thank you thank you thank you thank you!" And so on.

Noru shook himself out of his daze and made his way towards his leader, Dusk, who was carefully tending to an unconscious Ren's wounds.

"Thank goodness you got here when you did, ma'am. I don't know what I would've done if you didn't…" He bowed politely. The Absol calmly looked up from the injured apprentice.

"There's no need to stand on ceremony here, dear Noru. We better get back to camp and take these three to our healers. They are much better at medicine than I am." Dusk said briskly. Noru nodded before gently picking up Ren by the scruff with his mouth and carefully placing him on his back. Noru's ears perked up slightly at the sound of his Alpha clearing her throat. "Oh, and please try and get Pine off of our newcomer. I don't want to have to carry a strangled body back to our camp."

Noru looked over at his younger apprentice. Pine was currently hugging the life out of a familiar looking Glaceon, who was desperately thrashing his paws around and gasping for air against the normal type's grip. He sighed in exasperation before walking over and nudging them with his nose.

"Pine, I know you really appreciate him for saving you, but if you keep squeezing him like that, he'll be the one that needs saving," The mentor chuckled as his apprentice jumped off of the Glaceon, who looked rather pale after being nearly suffocated. Noru watched the ice type wobbled unsteadily onto his feet. "Come on, let's get back to camp."

"But what about al the prey that we hunted?" The Linoone whined.

"Well come back to get it later. Right now we have to get your wounds treated before they get worse. Got it?"

"Fine…" He pouted and followed his mentor as the five of them, including Ren who was sleeping peacefully on Noru's back, strode down the thick forest path leading back to camp. Pine pranced cheerfully up next to his savior and began talking the childish, yet friendly tone that only he can achieve after a strenuous battle.

"So, what's you're name?" Pine asked with a grin. The Glaceon's ears drooped down shyly and the ice fox stared at his feet.

"Um, Frost. My name's Frost." He replied quickly. The ice type bit his lips in a nervous manner. Even Pine could tell that he wasn't going to say any more than what was already said. Nonetheless, the hyperactive Linoone stayed beside him to keep him with a friendly company. Frost, although saying nothing, looked rather appreciative at this act.

The two of them perked up as they heard a familiar groan. Ren was beginning to stir and rubbed his eyes weakly from atop his mentor's back. The wounds on his back had stopped bleeding and the swelling on his forehead had shrunk somewhat, but the Luxio still looked nonetheless badly beaten.

"Is the fight over?" He asked, trying his best to ignore the pain. He glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes with dismay at Frost, who shrunk back slightly at the gesture. Pine missed the exchange and began babbling on rapidly about how Dusk arrived to save them.

"And Frost here was really strong!" The Linoone complimented, looking at the smaller male beside him with admiring eyes. "You beat that Houndoom without even getting hurt!"

"Really?" Ren said slowly, his voice dripping with an emotion Pine could not describe. Hate? No, they have only met for a couple of minutes. Ren couldn't possibly have such a strong dislike for the newcomer already, even if the Luxio was a jerk at times.. No, it was almost like… loathing.

Noru looked at his pupil with concern. He certainly hoped he wouldn't give Frost too much trouble. He shook his head as they neared their camp. They can sort that all out later. First they needed to get these three some medical treatment. Many eyes were steered towards them when they entered the camp, some with confusion, and others with awe. The Alpha has returned!

Dusk turned towards Noru with a strange look in her eyes. The Ninetails nodded his head at the silent message and looked over at Ren, who was still lying on his back.

"Can you stand?" The mentor whispered quietly. Ren nodded and wobbled off of his back, landing lightly on his feet. Apparently, he wasn't as hurt as he appeared to be. Noru ushered him, along with Pine and Frost, up to the Gathering Rock at the center of the den site where Dusk had already assembled the rest of the clan. Kara was already there, waiting for them. The older sibling cast Noru a worried glance at the sight of his wounds, but his expression quickly changed to irritation when he laid his yes on Frost. He opened his muzzle to say something but was cut off by Dusk, who had begun her announcement.

"My dear clan, I am sure you all have been wondering why I have been away from you all without notice, but I assure you that it was for a good reason." Whispering and chatter rose in volume after hearing the words of the Alpha. Dusk eyed them all patiently with a pause before continuing. "I have gone to receive us a new member, who will surely one day become a strong and loyal warrior and fight by our side with courage. His name is Frost."

The whispering rose to an excited conversing at the announcement. A new clanmate? Who could it be? Was he or she as strong as their Alpha claims to be? Frost flinched at the noise and bit his lip nervously. He was never good at meeting new people. Being thrown into such a situation was almost like placing him over a cliff with the pressure weighing down on him.

"Where is he from?" Someone piped up loudly. Frost froze at the spot and gulped. Then followed silence. A very still and heavy silence that pounded against every clan member's ears. One could have heard a blade of grass drop and land on the grassy forest floor. Kara smirked at Frost smugly, as if he was drinking down every drop of his discomfort with pleasure. Finally, someone broke the silence, but that person only managed to fill the newcomer with even more dread.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ren spat. "He's a filthy human pet. I can smell his stench all the way over here!"

Nervous murmuring filled the crowd. A human pet? Meaning a pokemon that was looked after by a human? How could their Alpha allow such a thing? Human pets were fat and lazy, said to have never raised a paw to work a day in their lives. How could such a creature become a warrior? Nervous sweat dripped down Frost's brow as words were exchanged between the many clan members.

"I don't care what you say, I won't stand for having human scum in our clan!" Ren snarled angrily. The Luxio was well known throughout the clan for his short temper, as well as his title as the strongest apprentice. He approached Frost with a mocking glare, looking down at him with pure hatred. "In fact, scum like you don't even deserve to live!"

With a lash of lightning, the Glaceon was thrown back several feet and landed heavily on the forest floor. The rest of the clan members had moved out of their way and formed a circle, preventing escape. Noru frantically ran over to his Alpha's side.

"Dusk, you have to stop them from fighting! Ren is already hurt, and Frost is not match for him. If they start a fight right here, one of them might actually die!" The mentor blurted in panic. The sound of deep laughter interrupted him as Kara joined them

"No, let them be," The warrior grinned victoriously. "This is a good way to see if he really is worthy of being in our clan. And if he actually wins, this could be a chance to let him win the clan's respect."

Dusk paused silently before slowly nodding her head in approval. Noru growled at his brother in fury.

"How could you?" He glared. Kara ignored him and trotted away to watch the battle.

Ren was currently taunting an unmoving Frost on the ground and he stomped on his head relentlessly with his paws, pushing the helpless Glaceon's muzzle against the dirt. Then, with a roar, he picked the smaller male up by the scruff and threw him over his shoulder. A pained cry escaped Frost's throat as he landed painfully with a sickening thud. Ren sneered with satisfaction when he saw the small trickle of blood drip down the side of his enemy's forehead.

"Ha! And I thought that you were strong! Go back to that dump you called home, scum!" The Luxio snarled with a bestial voice. Frost's jaw line tightened for a moment, but forced himself to take a deep breath before struggling to stand. His head was pounding with agony, but he shook it off warily.

"I'd rather not…" The ice type answered quietly, while staring down at his paws.

"Heh, I'm sure your stupid little family back in that human place of yours is waiting for you. I doubt they'd expect you to last for more than a minute in the wild," Ren laughed cruelly . The Glaceon's deep blue eyes suddenly hardened, and his meek expression grew fierce with anger.

Ren abruptly found himself literally face to face with Frost, who was a good few yards away only a split second ago. The ice type leaped toward him and twisted his body in midair, sending the Luxio flying with an Iron Tail. The crowd around them gasped in surprise at the newcomer's sudden burst of strength.

Ren was quick to pick himself up and faced Frost once more with an angry snarl. Their eyes met, and within moments Ice Beam collided with Thunderbolt, filling the battlefield with dust and explosions. Though both the apprentice and the newcomer were fighting with all they got, Frost was definitely getting more and more exhausted. It took almost three blasts of his ice to detonate one blast of lightning. At this rate, he was going to get blown to pieces before he knew it!

"Ha! If you keep going like this, you'll just end up getting killed! Just give up, you won't be able to even touch me!" Apparently his fear was showing clearly because the Luxio took this chance to go right back to taunting him.

Frost snapped his muzzle shut to keep in a squeal of pain as Ren's next Thunderbolt smashed right through the rest of his attacks and exploded right at his feet. The rest of the clan watched in suspense as his entire side of the battlefield was enveloped in a cloud of smoke and dust. Was he all right? Was that human pet even still alive? Noru was the most worried out of all of his clanmates and he struggled to see through the smoke.

The Ninetails heaved a sigh of relief when Frost's quiet voice sounded out within the blanket of debris.

"You said that none of my attacks will touch you, right?" His tone sounded weak, but nonetheless confident. Even Ren was unnerved slightly and took a step back when the air around them dropped a good ten degrees. Suddenly, a maverick wind blew a tunnel through the smoke as Frost charged toward the Luxio like a speeding missile. The ice fox grinned slightly midway through his dash. "Cuz if that's true, _I'll just fire point blank!_"

Ren's throat tightened in fear as the fierce glow of the Glaceon came just inches away from his face. He was like a deer caught in the headlights of a car, completely frozen in fear. Frost grinned in triumph. _I got him!_

The ice type felt a sudden weight on his back, pushing him to the ground. He gasped in surprised as the wind was knocked out of him, along with his attack. A pair of strong tails shot forward and roughly flung Ren out of the way right as the ice blast whizzed past the spot where he was standing moments before. The stand of trees behind the group was immediately frozen solid.

Frost growled angrily and struggled to stand up against the weight above him when it gently, but firmly, pushed him back down. He looked up to find that the one restraining him was none other than Noru.

"That is _enough_," The mentor said with an air of irritation. "You two have caused enough trouble for today. Pine," The Linoone standing within the crowd looked up excitedly. "Take Frost here to the medicine den. He's going to need to get his wounds treated. Meanwhile, I would like to have a word with Ren." The mentor glared at the crowd around them. "Well? What are you all waiting for? The show's over, get back to your duties!"

The Luxio looked up from his spot at the edge of the clearing with a smug air as the surrounding clan members bustled away to do their daily responsibilities. Had it been any other warrior who had who had wanted to see him, Ren would have been nervous as heck. But luckily, this was Noru. The Ninetails held a reputation as one of the softest mentors in the clan, which was pretty good news for him.

Ren shot an annoyed glance across the den site at Pine who was battering an exhausted Frost with rapid mouth as he lead him to the clan's healers. Well, if Ren couldn't kill him, at least there was a chance that Pine would talk him to death.

He shook his head wearily and straightened up as Noru approached. Before his mentor could say anything, the electric type sighed.

"I know what you're gonna say. I shouldn't have done what I did and I should treat all clan members both new and old with respect and all that good jazz," He recited while rolling his eyes. "You've told me this a thousand times."

"And have you ever wondered why I had to tell you a thousand times and I only had to tell Grey and Pine once?" The warrior tried his best to sound intimidating, but only ended up sounding like a female ranting at her pups, which Ren took notice of and had to bite his lips to stop himself from laughing out loud. Noru sighed. "You really need to be taught a lesson."

The broad shouldered Luxio gulped and suddenly stood up straighter. Noru rarely ever assigned any forms of punishment. If he was actually serious about assigning one now, it was highly likely that it wasn't going to be anything easy.

"I have decided to accept Frost as my apprentice." Ren's jaw dropped in utter shock. "Now he will be equals with you, Pine, and Grey. _And _he will be sharing dens with all of you."

"B-b-b-" The flabbergasted Luxio struggled to get his words out of his throat. "He's such a big _weakling! _Why the heck would you let him in our den?"

Noru laughed at his apprentice's reaction. "Ok, firstly, don't use that 'weakling' excuse. Kara said the same thing when the two of us were still apprentices like you were."

"What happened?" Ren asked.

"I got mad and sent him the medicine den with three broken bones," The mentor answered casually. "And secondly, the Glaceon is a lot of things, but a weakling? I don't think so."

The fire type trotted over to the stand of trees that had been frozen by Frost's attack and motioned for his apprentice to watch. With a gentle nudge, the tree branches immediately collapsed and crumbled into fine, white powder. Noru turned back towards Ren.

"See? If his attack had actually hit you, you would have been frozen to the core and that would be the end of that." The Ninetails stared hard into Ren's eyes. "You should probably know that Frost was mostly holding back until you insulted his family. I suggest you don't ever do that again."

"Why? Is his family really famous or something?" Ren asked curiously.

"No, his family is dead."

The Luxio gaped in shock. His guilt nudged him hard in the chest as he suddenly felt a heavy mental weight over his shoulders. "Oh. I didn't mean to-"

"Of course you didn't. You were only trying to kill him," Noru muttered sarcastically. Ren opened his mouth to speak, but his mentor gently covered it with one of his tails, wrapping the rest around the Luxio's broad shoulders supportively. "Ren, I'm not really the type of mentor to reprimand his students. So I'll only tell you this: be nice. I can tell he hates your guts already."

Ren stayed silent.

**(…)**

Grey cursed silently under his breath as he rummaged around the medicine den, knocking several wooden containers of herbs in the process. What's taking Fern so long to get a simple batch of herbs? He was supposed to be his mentor, so isn't he supposed to be able to do things quicker? The Umbreon's ears perked up slightly, the sound of pawsteps reaching his ears and adding to his current sense of annoyance.

"Don't bring anyone injured in here!" Grey snapped with irritation without looking up.

"But isn't that your job?" An oh so annoying yet familiar voice piped up before the Umbreon felt a sudden weight on his back as Pine playfully pounced on him.

Grey scowled. "Get off! We ran out of poppy seeds so, unless you want to wait for Fern to get back, you will all feel like you're in hell."

"Poppy seeds?" A quiet voice said curiously. Grey looked up, his half lidded gray eyes squinting slightly.

"So, you're that new guy I heard everyone talking about. What's your name?" The healer asked bluntly.

"Um, it's Frost." The ice type answered nervously. Grey raised his eyebrows.

"Judging by your name and the smell of an Eon, I'm guessing that you're a Glaceon, right?"

"Um, yeah I am," Frost said, tilting his head curiously. The lighting in the medicine den wasn't that dark. In fact, the sun was shining right through the grassy walls at them. The healer should be able to see him just fine. So why-?

"I'm blind, if that's what you're wondering," Grey muttered quietly while rearranging the wooden bowls around him. He sighed heavily and turned to face Frost. "Name's Grey. You can probably tell where I got it from." He said, emphasizing his dull, colorless eyes.

"Yeah! And he holds the record for being the grumpiest person at camp!" Pine piped up. The healer glared at the other apprentice and stomped out of the den in a huff. Pine frowned and hopped after him worriedly. "Wait! I was kidding, I'm sorry! Where are you going?"

Grey didn't look back, although there was no need to. "Everyone just kids around, don't they? No one really cares about a blind and useless healer like me."

"Actually," Frost said suddenly. "I'm kinda jealous."

The Umbreon's ears perked up and his half lidded eyes narrowed. "Of what?" He questioned testily.

"Of being blind," The ice type answered, smiling wide. "At least you don't have to look at Ren's face."

The edges of the healer's mouth twitched slightly as he tried not to smile. "Yeah, maybe that's the only good thing." He sighed and walked off.

"Hey, wait up! You still haven't told us where we're going!" Pine pouted and bounded after him with Frost following closely.

"I'm looking for Fern. That moron still hasn't gotten back yet." Grey muttered, rolling his eyes. "Feel free to come with me if you want. I could use the company- Ugh, what's _he _doing here?"

The other two apprentices looked up to see Ren slowly walking up towards them. Frost flinched slightly as the broad shouldered Luxio came closer. He was definitely not one of his favorite people.

"What do you want?" Grey snapped bluntly. Ren blinked.

"What? I'm injured too you know. Fighting thugs from the Ishi is not as easy as it looks. But of course, I beat them no problem!" The electric type puffed out his mane proudly. Frost rolled his eyes.

"Tough talk for the guy who got knocked out," He said mockingly.

"Excuse me?" Ren snarled, clearly annoyed. Grey smirked slightly as he listened to the exchange, laughing to himself when he felt the Luxio's heart rate go up in embarrassment.

"Come on, enough bickering. We're supposed to be going to find Fern, remember?"

The two rivals let out a huff and refused to look at each other. Pine had to push them along so that Grey wouldn't leave them behind. For someone who was blind, Grey navigated rather accurately through the forest and he stepped over several large stones and leapt over rocks. The Umbreon was definitely not going to let his disability slow him down.

They eventually decided to split up and search. This Fern person was certainly pretty elusive. Grey suggested searching the sunny spots of the forest, which was where poppy flowers were more likely to be found.

Frost was currently looking through a small, open field a little to the south of where they had fought their battle this morning. His ears perked up as he spotted a figure among the tall grass. She had her back turn to him, but nonetheless, he could tell that it was a Leafeon. Her feminine frame was hard to miss, even if it blended in perfectly with their surroundings. Frost blushed slightly. She looked rather pretty.

"Um, excuse me Miss-"

**(…)**

Grey's eyebrows twitched in annoyance as he heard a loud scream echoing through the woods, which was promptly followed by a large Solar Beam that probably left a crater or two in the fields. Maybe he should have warned the newbie about Fern before sending him off to search.

Pine stood on his hind legs to look through the tall bramble. "Sounds like he found Fern!" He laughed cheerfully. Ren raised his eyebrows in amusement while Grey rushed off toward the ruckus, tripping over several tree branches in his haste.

When the three apprentices arrived at the scene, they found Fern beating the living daylights out of poor Frost, screaming something along the lines of, "I'M A GUY, DAMMIT! WHY THE HELL DOES EVERY SINGLE PERSON I MEET THINK I'M A FRICKIN' GIRL?"

Ren, Grey, and Pine awkwardly watched from the sidelines of this strange predicament while the ice type got the crap kicked out of him; by a healer, no less. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p><strong>BCY: Sooo, what do you peoples think? Good? Bad? Awesome? :D<strong>

**Kara: I thought it sucked.**

**BCY: That's just mean! :( **

**Grey: I can't read. T^T**

**Fern: Dammit! Why the heck did you make me so feminine?**

**BCY: *Sweatdrops* Ummm…Review please and ignore all the death threats my characters are giving!**

**Noru: I look so manly in this story! :)**


	2. Fern the Healer

**BCY: Hey guys! Welcome to the second chapter!**

**Imaginary crickets: Chirp chirp…**

**Kara: You are you even talking to?**

**BCY: My dear, dedicated readers of course! Right guys?**

**(Imaginary cheering)**

**Kara: You, sir, belong to an insane asylum. Why the heck is everything around you imaginary?**

**BCY: Cuz I'm just that awesome! Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention to everyone in the last chapter the ages of our awesome characters (except Kara cuz he's mean to me T^T). So here I have this handy dandy chart! :D**

_**Frost: 14**_

_**Pine: 15**_

_**Ren: 16**_

_**Grey: 15**_

_**Fern: 18**_

_**Noru: 21**_

_**Kara: 21**_

_**Dusk: 35**_

**BCY: So there you have it! How do you guys think of the story so far?**

**Kara: Just get to it already. Your author notes are boring…**

* * *

><p>"I'm a guy dammit! You hear me? A <em>guy!"<em> Fern screamed hysterically as Frost was beaten to a bloody pulp. The said ice type repeatedly attempted to explain himself but was foiled by Fern's paws which were doing a good job hammering his muzzle shut. He was eventually saved by Grey who decided to show some mercy and talk his senior healer out of doing the opposite of what his job is suppose to be.

"Fern, I know you're angry and all but, I think you're being a tad immature here. So what if he called you a girl? Practically everyone had," The Umbreon smirked at Ren, who immediately looked away with an indignant sulk and rubbed his muzzle tenderly at the memory of the pain the grass type brought upon it.

"That's exactly why I have to make my point!" Fern growled heatedly. "You kits never learn unless the lesson comes with a beating!" At those words, Frost nervously squirmed from under the Leafeon.

"Erm, I'm sorry?" The ice fox managed to choke out meekly while trying to keep the grass type's paw from crushing his throat. Fern frowned and crouched down, glaring at Frost with narrowed eyes, their faces only inches away. The ice type gulped apprehensively as this captor's eyes bore into him like needles.

Quite suddenly, Fern let out a good-natured laugh and hopped off of the battered body under him. "Cute kid," He commented in a way that made him sound like he just handed a child sweets. The others stared at the healer incredulously as if he had three heads.

"This guy has problems…" Ren muttered under his breath. Fern heard him and roughly shoved a pawfull of herbs down his throat. The apprentice's gag reflex immediately kicked into action and he dropped to the ground while trying franticly to swallow the medicine before he suffocated. There was always that risk with Fern where the herbs that were supposed to save you ended up choking you to death instead.

The healer ignored the Luxio's sputtering and turned to Grey. "I got all the poppy seeds you said we needed for the painkillers," The healer reached for a basket woven out of dry grass sitting off to the side. "I just needed to do some double checking cuz there were some foxglove plants around and I didn't want to end up poisoning anybody."

"Yeah whatever. Just make sure to hurry up next time," Grey snapped. Fern laughed.

"Great. Now you make it sound like I'm the apprentice," The healer giggled. The Umbreon rolled his sightless eyes before jerking his head toward Pine, Ren, and Frost.

"Noru told me to heal these three, but there wasn't any poppy seeds and I didn't want to hear them whining about the pain," He muttered with annoyance. His mentor grinned and placed a paw on his shoulder playfully.

"Aw, you do have a heart," The Leafeon ignored his irritated growling and turned toward the other three. "Pine, you follow Grey back to the camp with the poppy seeds. Ren, you take the cutie and show him around our territory. "

"I thought you were supposed to heal us!" Ren said in surprise. Fern rolled his eyes.

"What do you think those herbs I fed you were? And I already patched up the little cutie, if you haven't noticed."

"W-wah? Cutie?" Frost stuttered and blushed deeply, giving the healer another good excuse to laugh at him. Ignoring the exchange, Grey's ears twitched slightly as he listened in on the ice fox's heartbeat. It was true. Most of his injuries were already sealed up and judging by his pulse, the scarring would probably fade after another couple of days.

"You used Synthesis on him while you were beating him up, didn't you?" The blind apprentice muttered under his breath with raised eyebrows. "You're the only person I know who would do something as crazy as that."

Fern winked before prancing through the field and into the forest path leading back to the camp. He turned back and shouted, "You're always such a big grump, Grey! Oh, and Ren, take care of the cutie! I don't wanna hear about you two killing each other again!"

Grey grunted his displeasure before reluctantly following him with Pine by his side. The Linoone watched Fern bound cheerfully out of sight before scratching his chin, apparently deep in thought.

"How come Fern's always so immature?" Pine wondered obliviously. Grey rolled his sightless eyes.

"You really shouldn't be talking."

**(…)**

Frost flushed a feverish shade of red as the retreating back of Fern faded into the woods. Ren smirked at his companion's embarrassment, clearly amused by the healer's flirty attitude. The Luxio bonked the ice type on the head with his tail before turning to leave.

"Wait! Where are you going?" The younger canine yelped and rubbed the back of his head gently before bounded after him.

"Didn't you hear? I've been given the chore of showing you around Carina territory. I'm only gonna explain things once, so you better listen, got it?" Frost nodded coolly, although his eyes wandered more or less as if lost in thought. Ren's smirk widened at the sight of the ice fox's reddening face. "Oh, and brace yourself. Once Fern gives you a nickname, it sticks. So get ready for a world of embarrassment when you get back."

The Glaceon opened his muzzle to say something, but realized that Ren had already walked a good twenty yards ahead of him in the grassy field. He shook the thought out of his head and frantically paced to follow him.

"Ok, the first thing you need to know is the structure of our clan's ranking system," Ren spoke loudly while trying his best to sound like Noru when he gave lessons. "The lowest ranking members of the Carina are the newborn kits and those in exile, although technically the exiled members aren't part of the clan anymore. The kits and pups usually stay in the nursery for the first few months before moving in with their mothers. Above them are the apprentices, who are usually in their teens. Pine, Grey, you, and me are all apprentices. And of course, I'm the strongest one." The Luxio puffed out his mane proudly.

Frost rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself that."

Ren's eyes narrowed dangerously, but decided to put off the insult. "The apprentices usually stay in designated dens that are sorted out by Dusk, our Alpha. She made it so that the apprentices of the same den would live together, have the same mentor, and do a bunch of patrolling and missions together. This would give them a chance to 'bond' or whatever." The Luxio rolled his eyes dismissively. "If you want my opinion, I think it's a load of useless junk. Oh, and you're in my den by the way. We're rooming with Grey, Pine, and unfortunately, Fern. Even though he's not an apprentice and he usually sleeps in the medicine den, he stays with us sometimes."

"Hey," Frost spoke up suddenly, his voice cold with the newly formed grudge for the other apprentice. "How come you always say that you're the strongest apprentice?"

Ren gave him an arrogant grin, showing off his fangs. "Well occasionally, when the apprentices get a day off, we hold little contests to see who's best. Of course, I won every time. That's probably why Noru made me the leader of our den. That means all three of you, besides Fern of course, are my responsibility. Therefore you have to show me some respect!"

_No wonder why Grey seems to hate him so much,_ Frost thought as he watched the conceited Luxio beamed proudly.

"I'll show you some respect when you earn it," He growled. "So far, you're doing a pretty bad job."

"What was that?" Ren's fangs flashed threateningly as he crouched down, glaring at the smaller male with their faces only inches apart. "You mind saying that again?"

The ice fox scoffed dismissively, glaring back coolly. "I thought you just said that you only explain things once. I plan on doing the same. And by the way, attempting to kill people doesn't necessarily earn their respect."

Ren snarled and lunged, roughly pinning the Glaceon down with his claws digging painfully into his shoulders. Frost let out a startled squeak as his captor lowered his head next to his own, feeling the Luxio's heated breath against ear. The mere sound of his breathing sent cold shivers down his spine.

"Now listen here, scum. I'm not going to put up with the crap you're giving me. So you either stop acting like a spoiled kit or I'm going to rip your throat out."

Frost sucked in a breath of air and smirked a little. "Do you ever do anything besides threatening people to like you? If you haven't already noticed, it's not working."

That sent Ren over the edge. He roared with complete rage and launched himself at the smaller male, his teeth bared, cackling with a Thunderfang, and his eyes burning with absolute fury.

**(…)**

Fern bounded out of the thickets and into the camp swiftly with his leafy tail swaying cheerfully behind him. Grey and Pine had already made it back to the medicine den before he did, mostly because he was busy frolicking and goofing off back in the forest trail, pouncing on leaves and chasing moths like a playful kit.

The grass type let his eyes wonder about the den site and caught sight of Noru and Kara conversing in a corning, exchanging whispers and glancing around secretively. Fern grinned mischievously before prancing toward them. Kara nearly had a heart attack when the eeveelution pounced onto his head and clamped his paws firmly over his eyes.

"Guess who?" He laughed humorously as the older Ninetails swung his head back and forth in effort to detach the smaller male.

"Fern, get off! You're acting like a newborn kit!" Kara growled, clearly annoyed. The said healer giggled and hopped back onto the soiled ground.

"Ha ha, how did you know it was me?" Fern giggled. Kara let out a huff.

"You and Pine are the only two in the entire camp that's immature enough to do something like that. And seeing as Pine is in the medicine den and-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever." Noru interrupted. His older brother glared at him for the disruption but he took no notice. "Have you seen Frost?"

Fern's ears instantly perked up and his mouth stretched out into a wide, giddy smile. "Of course I did! That little kit's practically a mini version of Cloud! He's soooo adorable! I wanna just hug him to death!"

The two Ninetails sweatdropped awkwardly at the comment. Kara looked mentally scarred while Noru tried to hide a small smile behind one of his tails.

"Um, Fern, you do know that Frost is like four years younger than you, right? It'll be kinda weird if you start hitting on him." Kara muttered under his breath.

"Aw…it's hard though…" Fern's lips curled up into a cute pout. "I mean, he's _adorable!"_

"Fern," Noru said uncertainly. "I thought you were dating Cloud-"

"Who's Cloud?"

All three of them jumped at the sudden voice. Though he was blind, Grey's eyes narrowed suspiciously. He had somehow managed to sneak right next to Kara without being noticed, which nearly gave the older Ninetails sibling another heart attack and caused him to almost jump out of his fur in surprise. Fern, on the other paw, blushed deeply. Did his apprentice just hear him call Frost adorable? If word gets out, he'll never hear the end of it! Noru gave the Leafeon a look that clearly said 'you should have seen that coming!'

"Erh, Grey! You're supposed to be patching up Pine, aren't you?" Fern spluttered hysterically and trying desperately to sound calm and composed and not like someone who got caught doing something embarrassing.

"That doesn't answer my question," Grey raised his eyebrow in questioningly. Although he couldn't actually see his mentor's blush, he could tell that he was clearly in the state of embarrassment from the sound of his rapidly beating heart. "Now who's this Cloud person and what does he have to do with Frost? Are they related?"

"Grey," Noru said while placing a comforting paw on Fern's head. "This is a secret that Dusk personally ordered to be _kept_ secret, so we can't tell you. And please don't ask Frost about it. It'll only bring him pain."

The Umbreon was taken aback by the sudden serious tone. He sighed. "Fine. But speaking of Frost, don't you think you guys should be rescuing him right now?" Taking one look at his mentors' dumbfounded expression, he continued. "You mean you guys didn't hear that explosion just now?"

"Not all of us have super hearing like you do, Grey." Kara muttered indignantly under his breath.

"Well it sounded like Frost and Ren are trying to kill each other again, but that's obviously not important at the moment." Grey shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The blind Umbreon jerked his head toward the sky. In the distance, a huge pillar of rising smoke was billowing from a part of the forest and into red evening sky. Fern's nosed twitched with humorously.

"Hey, that's where I sent Ren to show Frost around our territory," He remarked as if it was only a minor detail.

"WHAT? You moron! Why the heck did you send the two of them off together unsupervised!" Noru screeched hysterically all of a sudden. Grey covered his sensitive ears, wincing from the sheer volume. To the Umbreon, Noru was sometimes even more immature than Fern and Pine put together.

Before the others could do anything, the younger Ninetails was already disappearing into the cover of the forest. Fern and Kara got one good look at Noru's back before dashing off after him. Grey decided to stay behind. He never liked running very much, especially since he couldn't see where he was going. It will be best if he left that to the warriors and the apprentices who could actually become warriors. He paused before silently trotting back to the medicine den.

Meanwhile, the other two mentors were having no problem finding out where Noru was headed. That overprotective Ninetails was practically charging through the forest like a rampaging Mamoswine. The broken tree branches and flattened bushes were a clear indication of that. It didn't take long before they reached the place where the smoke was coming from.

Noru was currently dragging the unconscious bodies of Ren and Frost out of a rather large crater. The edges of the depression were sizzling as if it had been recently struck by something explosive, most likely the Luxio's electricity.

Ren was out cold, but luckily, with a quick check up by Fern, his body only showed signs of small burns and slight surface wounds. He would be up and running after he wakes up. Frost too, had nothing more severe than the thin scratch down his left shoulder. Nonetheless, this didn't stop Noru from fussing over them like a mother over her kits.

"Calm down, will you? This is nothing." Kara muttered irritatedly at his brother's ranting. "These kits are fine! You got hurt like this all the time where you were younger."

"But big br-"

"Don't call me that!" The older sibling snapped, causing Noru to pout defiantly. Fern ignored the fire types' bickering and crouched down at Ren's body, inspecting his fangs closely. The healer grinned before rising up again.

"Well, it looks like the herbs I give Ren worked well," Fern laughed cheerfully in contrast to the burnt environment. The other two canines stared at him disbelievingly.

"What do you mean?" Noru asked slowly, not sure if he even wanted to know.

"Before I sent them off, I gave Ren a few herbs," The healer began. "They actually make the receiver incapable of performing any attacks. And since Ren probably tried to fight again, the electricity went out of control and knocked out everyone in the area. Neat trick right?"

"Why didn't you just separate the two of them?" Kara asked suspiciously. Fern grinned before pouncing on top of Frost and pinched his cheeks playfully with his paws.

"Cuz if I did it this way, they'd get hurt. How can I resist such a cute patient?" He giggled innocently. For once, the older Ninetails gave Frost a look of pity.

It didn't take long before the said Glaceon and Luxio woke up. After some heavy scolding by Noru, the two of them were sent to Grey in the medicine den. Fern wanted to be the one to treat Frost's wounds, but of course, the other two warriors didn't let him do so, much to the ice type's relief. Grey wasn't too happy about having to take care of two patients at once, but he got his share of fun when he 'forgot' to put poppy seeds into Ren's poultice and made his injuries sting like heck. Frost on the other paw, who the other apprentice seemed to like, felt completely comfortable with the treatment. There was also a small incident where Pine came to visit them and accidentally treaded on Ren's tail, much to the electric type's displeasure.

By the time the blind healer was done, the day had already slipped away without their notice. Dusk was quick to call the day off and everyone except the night patrol returned to his or her dens, utterly spent. Fern took the liberty of showing Frost around the den they shared with Ren and the others. On the outside, the den looked like a rather small tent made with sturdy tree branches and leaves but on the inside it was much more spacious, probably because the den's floor was dug several inches deeper than the surrounding land.

Ren and Pine were already sleeping in their individual nests of woven grass and leaves when they entered. The Luxio's snoring was almost deafening, but no one seemed too bothered by it. Fern all too eagerly offered to share nests with Frost since he didn't have one yet, in which the ice type reluctantly accepted, though a bit uncomfortably. It wasn't long before the grass type was asleep along with everyone else.

The Glaceon sighed quietly and looked up toward the silvery moonlight that shone through the den's roof. A lot had happened today. This life in the wild doesn't seem that bad, even if dealing with Ren was going to be a pain in the neck. He relaxed a bit when he felt a sleeping Fern's paw drape over his shoulder warmly. Frost smiled and snuggled closer.

Just as he closed his eyes, Fern opened his own. The Leafeon's usual cheerful grin was absent, replaced with a bittersweet smile. His forest green eyes grew watery as he felt the younger Eeveelutions rhythmic breaths.

_He looks exactly like you, Cloud, right down to those blue eyes. _A single tear trickled slowly down his cheek. _If only you were still alive to see him now…_

* * *

><p><strong>Fern: Hey! Why do I sound so depressing here?<strong>

**BCY: Cuz Kara made me depressed after hearing him rant about my writing.**

**Kara: Wah?**

**Fern: ME KILL YOU! *attacks Kara with frying pan***

**Kara: AAAAHHH! *cartoon fight cloud covers them* **

**BCY: Well, that's what you get for making me mad! ^^**

**Grey: Sigh. Ignore the crazy maniacs behind me and just review.**


	3. Training Day

**BCY: Yush! The newest chapter is here! And I made damn sure this was the longest one so far to make up for it being late. I'm sorry my dear readers!~**

**Kara: Why do I get the feeling that something's not going to go right this chapter?**

**BCY: Oh yes, thanks for reminding me! I have finally written my first ever lemon! So let's see, warnings… Yaoi, mature sexual content, and twinest! If you don't like, don't read.**

**Noru: *blush* T-twinest? You don't mean-**

**BCY: Oh, and there's a few new characters and Frost/Fern fluff! With that said, on with the story!**

* * *

><p>The sun was just barely over the horizon when Fern felt a faint stirring in his mind. Something wasn't right, like emptiness somewhere he could not identify. The grass type tried his best to dismiss the feeling and snuggled closer to Frost by his side. That is, if the ice fox was there. Fern woke up with a start to find his denmate missing, only a cold, absent spot in his place.<p>

At first he panicked. What else could he do? His adorable little Frost was missing from his nice cozy spot next to him! They were supposed to be cuddling together warmly and flirt, not be apart! The grass type hurriedly stretched a bit before looking around the den, which was free of the ice fox's presence.

Fern was quick to dash outside and found Frost sitting stiffly at the den entrance, staring with a dazed expression at the sunrise.

"Frost! What are you doing up so early?" Fern whined as he approached the new clan member drowsily. "Lets go back inside and 'get warm!'"

The Glaceon absentmindedly shook his head, his teal eyes clouded with thoughts, barely acknowledging the other eon's presence. He seemed to shiver from the warming cold despite his natural abilities, and his tail curled around his paws protectively as if hiding from something.

"No, I'd like to say out here for a bit longer." He said quietly.

Fern silently sat down by his side and followed his gaze toward the brilliantly lit clouds of dawn. Though this sort of thing wasn't at all uncommon, it was still pretty to watch. Frost's eyes swam with bittersweet memories as the sun rose higher over treetops of the forest, casting a fiery hue over the blankets of clouds that covered the sky.

"I used to watch the sunrise all the time with my brother," the ice type whispered, as if daring to speak of such a subject. Fern's ears perked up in surprise and concern as he continued. "We never got much free time together since our human treated us like his property and used us to fight every day. And he always stays up really late at night too. The only time my brother and I had together for ourselves was here in the early morning…"

Frost's eyes watered slightly at the edges as the bittersweet memories took hold of him. Fern pressed their pelts together and licked his cheek comfortingly. "Well, even if your brother isn't here with you, at least now you get to share that time you have with the us. We're denmates now, right?" The grass type laughed for a moment. "I bet even Ren would be willing to spend his time with you. In his own way."

The edges of the ice fox's mouth twisted up slightly in a smile. Ever so slowly, he leaned closer onto Fern and rested his head on the larger male's shoulder, relishing the warmth and comfort that met him. The two of them simply stayed there in each other's embrace, not wanting to leave the reassuring ease they gave one another.

**(…)**

Ren was the last one to get up.

"Why the heck are you guys up so early? It's practically still dark outside!" the Luxio complained lazily while he stretched, popping his back in the process. Frost winced at the disturbing sound before heaving a sigh.

"I couldn't sleep a wink last night," the ice fox muttered quietly. "There was this really loud noise that kept coming up."

Grey, who was grooming his fur in the corner of the den, raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Noise? What kind of noise?"

"It sounded like a huge bear was outside growling at us!" Frost squeaked slightly. Fern was quick to snuggle next to him comfortingly, although the other Eon awkwardly scooted away. "It was scary!"

"Growling noise?" The blind Umbreon's eyes narrowed for a moment, thinking. He and Pine suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh, _that_ noise. Don't worry about it. That happens all the time in this den."

"What was it?"

Pine giggled childishly before pouncing on top of Ren. "I caught our bear! See Ren? I told you that you snored like a crazy person!"

A little after that, the rest of the clan woke up to a loud explosion in the camp. Noru, being the constant worrier of the group, was the first to arrive at the scene, though the sight that had awaited him wasn't something he expected. He found Ren madly chasing after Frost and Pine with a murderous glare in his eyes and static crackling in his fur while Fern was lagging behind them whining about how Frost's fur is going to be too frizzy to snuggle with. Grey was already on his way to the medicine den mumbling about how he was going to be forced to patch up his reckless denmates again.

Noru quickly broke up the squabbling teenagers and ranted at them harshly about proper behavior. Of course, that didn't last long after Pine put on his baby innocent face. The Ninetails instantly melted from the adorableness.

After the morning announcements made by Dusk, Noru gathered all his apprentices under the oak tree, excluding Fern of course. The grass type was ordered by their Alpha to go scout out their borders so that no Ishi members would attack them again. Grey ran off somewhere during the meeting, but Noru decided to begin his announcement anyway.

"Alright, today will be another review day for all of you," The Ninetails said in a surprisingly mature voice. "We will be going over things like hunting skills, territory borders, and the structure of the landscape."

Already Pine began moaning in boredom and Ren's eyelids drooped sleepily. Noru sighed at his students' lack of interest.

"Those who do not participate will be given night patrol." That got them working. The two apprentices sat up straight immediately and stood alert. Nobody wanted to stay up all night guarding the camp that probably didn't need any protection. Especially since all the night moths flutter everywhere and try to chew off their fur. Frost just stared up at the mentor with confusion, which did not go unnoticed by Ren.

"I guess our little newbie doesn't know a thing you're talking about," The Luxio smirked. "But don't worry. Just listen to everything I say, and you'll learn soon enough."

Frost scoffed indignantly. "Oh really? Are you going to teach me how to get knocked out? Cuz I'd just _love_ to know how to do something so useful like that."

"Knock it off you two." Noru spoke sharply. "Or do you want me to assign night patrols already?" The two apprentices reluctantly turned away, refusing to look in each other's eyes. Noru muttered something under his breath before commanding their departure. The team was just about to leave when a very angry Grey stomped over to them. And he looked severely pissed.

"Um, Grey? You alright?" Frost asked meekly. He flinched from the hateful glare that the blind Umbreon shot him.

"Don't. Say. A. _Word,_" He snarled. The ice fox took a step back, physically shaken from the dark type's attitude. The Umbreon was literally steaming, his fur standing on end and quivering with anger. Noru looked at him with concern.

"Grey," The mentor said. "I think you should sit this one out and sort out your problems with your brother first. You can't learn anything today fuming mad like this."

"Not you too!" Grey growled, literally spitting with rage. "Ok, listen here. Pyro is a _bitch_! I don't give a damn what he says, I'm not staying behind like a frail, disabled elder. I'm blind, so what? I can take care of myself perfectly fine."

Frost glanced over his shoulder. A tall, burly Flareon walked up to them, showing clear signs of concern. Was this Grey's brother? They definitely looked nothing alike. While Grey was a thin and lean, Frost could clearly see the hidden muscles that rippled under this Flareon's pelt. He practically towered over him in height, and he looked several years older than the Umbreon was.

"Grey," The Flareon began, his face etched with worry. "You better skip training. You were clearly overworked yesterday and I don't want to see you getting-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Grey swore loudly. "Quit treating me like kid! I barely did _anything_ yesterday, so how heck could I be tired? Use common sense you moron!"

Pyro looked unfazed by his brother's outburst. "Watch your language brother. I can see that you haven't grown up a single bit. Show some maturity, will you?"

"EXCUSE ME? Who the hell can stay mature if they've been cooped up in a den for the last fifteen years of his life without any experience with the outside world because of his Arceus-damned brother?" The blind Umbreon roared. He couldn't even look at him anymore. With a whisk of his tail, Grey disappeared into the thickets of the forest leaving a trail of broken debris in his wake.

Pyro watched his brother's retreating back exasperatedly and turned to Noru. "Look after him will you? He'll probably get lost or something."

"Actually, I think you should start giving him a chance at being independent," The mentor remarked. "Grey's already old enough to start actual patrolling, and yet you wouldn't even allow him to take one step out of camp borders. I actually thought it was a miracle that Grey managed to sneak off to find Fern yesterday without you dragging him by the scruff back to his den. Loosen up, will you?"

"It's not for you to judge," The smaller fire type said curtly. "This is a family matter."

"As his mentor, I do believe that I do hold some responsibility over Grey." Noru said warningly. He walked up to the Flareon and glared down at him, a clear sign of dominance. "Leave. You are interrupting my apprentices' education."

Pyro's eyes swayed slightly, betraying a hint of fear and he trotted away with a huff. Noru sighed with relief and turned back towards his apprentices. Pine and Ren were unsurprised at the exchange. Frost on the other hand, looked up at the mentor questioningly.

"Frost, that was Grey's brother, Pyro," Noru introduced, although albeit late. "He's just recently became a full warrior and hasn't spent much time with Grey, so he worries a bit."

"A bit?" Ren laughed. "He's even worse than you are."

"There are reasons for everything," The Ninetails said and turned towards the forest, hinting that the conversation was over. "Come on, let's go find Grey."

Noru led the group a little west of the camp and Frost was surprised when they ran into a rather large lake. A tall, rocky mountain edged the north side of it. The water was crystal clear and stretched almost as far as the eye could see. The sandy shore that bordered the water formed soft, pillowy dunes, almost making the ice fox feel like rolling in it. His mentor smiled at his expression.

They found Grey skulking in the shallow water, angrily launching Shadow Balls into the lake and watched somewhat satisfyingly at the detonation, in spite of being blind. Noru, Pine, and Ren stayed back and observed the rampaging Umbreon spraying lake water into the air. The water was coming down so heavily that it felt as though it was raining.

"Aren't we going to talk to him?" Frost asked curiously, looking up at his superior. Noru shook his head.

"I wouldn't disturb him if I were you." The mentor warned. "Grey lashes out at anything that moves when he's like this. It dangerous to go any closer."

"That's no way to do anything," Frost remarked. Ren smirked.

"Oh, and I take it that you think you can make him listen?" He taunted. Frost glared at the Luxio with distain.

"Watch me."

Noru felt compelled to stop the newcomer, but at the same time felt like he should let him go. He did nothing as the Glaceon trekked across the sand and toward Grey, ignoring the disbelieving look in Ren's eyes.

"Grey!" Frost called out. Almost immediately there were several Shadow Balls hurled in his direction. The Glaceon tensed for a moment, then stood still. The attacks landed everywhere around where he stood, but surprisingly left him untouched except save for the massive clouds of sand that was sent into the air.

Grey calmly waded out of the lake and shook the water out of his fur as Frost coughed and choked into the sand.

"What do you want?" The dark type scoffed with irritation.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright," Frost said. Grey's frown twisted into a snarl.

"Oh. Are you going to start lecturing me about what I shouldn't do because I'm _blind_?" He spat out the word as if it was poison. "I'm sick and tired of everyone telling me that!"

"Actually," Frost smiled timidly. "I didn't want you to be late. We have training with Noru today remember? Since today's my first day, I wanted all my denmates to be there." The ice fox's mouth curled up into a cute pout, and although Grey couldn't see it, his expression softened a bit. "So could you come with us? Pleeeeease?"

"You sound so much like Pine sometimes…" Grey muttered under his breath. "Fine, but not a word about what happened earlier."

Noru was somewhat surprised when Frost managed to return with Grey trotting calming behind him in one piece. Ren was especially shocked. The electric type gave Frost a nasty glare and the ice fox returned it with a triumphant grin. A silent message was exchanged between the group and no one dared to bring up what happened with Pyro, less a very angry Grey ripped them to shreds.

Their mentor cleared his throat, albeit unnecessarily as he prepared to address his students. "Alright, since this is the first time Frost has experienced hunting-"

"Um actually," The ice fox began. "My…brother brought me out hunting occasionally when were we still with our human."

"Pff," Ren rolled his eyes. "Why would a lazy human pet like you need to hunt?"

"Because our human starved us…" Frost replied softly. The Luxio immediately snapped his muzzle shut, in fear of treading on forbidden territory. Noru gave his apprentice a hard look before continuing.

"Alright then, if you believe that you've learned the basics, then we'll start a quick hunting trip. You guys have ten minutes to bring back as much prey as you can." He instructed. The group quickly dispersed, each of them deeply concentrating on their hunt. Ren especially, since he felt the need to show off in front of the newbie. He felt himself smirk slightly as he eyed Frost in the background dipped down in a crouch with his rump in the air, preparing to pounce on unsuspecting prey. Fern would probably be drowning in his own drool if he were here to see this.

After the said time, Noru called them back to assess their catch. Frost managed to get six tree squirrels without even using any attacks. He probably didn't want to eat cold food though. Pine caught a rather large vole and a thrush, smiling proudly like a kit with his achievement. Ren on the other hand presented seven badly mangled squirrels. Frost and Pine snickered as Noru started ranting about how no one wants to eat bloody scraps with the intestines hanging out.

The one that probably brought the most surprise was Grey. He managed to catch ten field mice and presented them with their tails tied neatly into a knot. Field mice were especially difficult to find because of how sensitive they were to sound. They are known to quickly scamper away before anyone even knew they were there. Excluding Ren, everyone gave the dark type great praise, which he promptly dismissed.

"Wow Grey, how did you catch all this? I mean, the first time I tried hunting for these things I couldn't find a single one because they all went hiding somewhere," Pine sniffed the rodents excitedly. The Umbreon scoffed.

"That's probably because you scared them all away," He said rolling his eyes. "I can hear them better than the rest of you, not to mention smell and everything else"

"Well, this actually ties in with our second lesson," Noru spoke up. "All warriors need to be able to detect those around them, so our senses are important parts of our everyday lives. Now, you task is to tell me how many birds you think there are in this tree." The mentor nodded towards the said tree.

"Um…there are five, right?" Frost said after a moment of sniffing.

"No you pet, there's seven," Ren smirked triumphantly. The ice fox pouted and stuck his tongue out at him. Pine was stumbling behind them trying to stretch his neck high enough to see into the leaves while Grey stood by them silently.

"In this tree, there are thirteen," The Umbreon answered. He casually shot a small Shadow Ball into the thickets and, just like he deduced, there were thirteen birds fluttering away in panic. Noru nodded proudly at the apprentice.

"How do you keep doing that?" Pine complained indignantly. Grey smirked.

"I told you already, didn't I?" He muttered. "I've honed my senses to be stronger than everyone else's. I'm not going to let myself get left out just because I'm blind. And since I'm a dark type, I can sense the vibes of everything around me. See? I'm not just another useless den member."

Ren flinched and looked away with guilt as if the words were directed towards him. Noru watched the Luxio and sighed. He really wished that the he would start showing more respect towards his peers, but what else can he expect from Ren of all people?

The Ninetails flicked his tails as if dismissing the thoughts. "Since you guys got all the physical exercises done, why don't I test what you know?"

There were a chorus of groans from Ren and Pine. Frost stretched his back and shook himself as if to stay awake. Their mentor promptly ignored them and continued his lesson.

"What are the four clans that reside in this land?" No one bothered to answer besides Grey, who was more than willing to show his capabilities.

"The Carina, Ishi, Mizu, and Bosque." The Umbreon recited rhythmically as if he swallowed a textbook. "Our clan is of course the Carina. We are mostly canines and rule over the forest and are relatively peaceful. Our law is that we do not attack others unless it's absolutely necessary. The Ishi are the canines that live in the mountains north of here. They are actually gathered groups of outcasts that our clan left behind long ago. They're our bitter enemies, and we just recently had a war. The Carina won of course, but the Ishi's still out to try and fight us."

Noru nodded approvingly as Grey paused for breath. "And? What are the other two?"

"The Mizu are aquatic Pokemon that live in this lake. They mostly keep to themselves and rarely interact with other clans, so we don't know much about them. I've heard from the elders that they're very nice though, even if they never show themselves. And the Bosque are the Pokemon that are said to hide in our forest with us. We've never seen them because they are even more secretive than the Mizu. Actually, it's never really proven that they exist."

"Perfect as usual, Grey." Their mentor smiled. Grey nodded as thanks.

Pine giggled and leaned over to Frost. "I never knew that Grey was such a nerd." Frost wasn't sure if it was a good idea to say that, especially since the said Umbreon was right next to them with his ears twitching angrily. As expected, Grey batted Pine's nose irritatingly and told them to shut up.

Noru laughed at the dark type's moment of immaturity. "Come on, lets get back to camp," The mentor flicked his tails lightly as and trotted off into the forest.

While the rest of the apprentices followed after Noru, Ren was noticeably quiet. Surprisingly, Frost was the first one to voice his concern, though the Luxio didn't seem to pay it any mind.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" The ice fox pounced onto Ren's head and knocked him off balance. The electric type immediately snapped out of his daze and shook the smaller male off his back, growling angrily.

"What was that for?"

"Well," Frost began. "I was a bit worried because you were spacing out. I thought maybe your brain got mangled somehow like the squirrels you caught."

Ren glared at the Glaceon angrily, but for once, remained silent. Noru looked at him apprentice with a hard stare.

"What is it?"

"Does anyone else smell something…wet?" Ren muttered under his breath.

"Of course we do, it rained just yesterday," Pine piped up. The Luxio shook his head and sniffed at the air again.

" I don't know. It still smells…different."

Grey, who was listening behind them halted to a stop and closed his sightless eyes. Taking a deep breath, he realized Ren was right. The water smelled sharp, not like the gentle wash that rain would give off. It was almost as if… The Umbreon's yellow ring patterns began glowing brightly as he concentrated on the vibes around him.

The healer's eyes immediately shot open and he literally fell on his back with shock. Heavy waves of emotion swarmed around him like a large thunderstorm. Though there were a number of other vibes that were given off in the forest, there was once that was incredibly sharp, cutting through the others like a knife though butter.

_Bloodlust._

"I smell the Ishi," Grey leaped back onto his feet and before the others could say a single word, the blind healer was already disappearing into the forest. Dashing northeast towards the enemy clan's territory, the smell of blood grew apparent in the air. As he drew closer, Grey became aware that the blood was coming from not one person, but many.

He felt a shiver down his spine as his paws fell onto a puddle in the forest floor. There was no need to tell him that it was not water. Grey's nose wrinkled in disgust. There were seven bodies of dead Carina warriors that littered the area, not a single one moving. The wounds on the corpses looked very recent, suggesting that the killing should be still around.

"Grey! What the heck are you doing here?"

The Umbreon twirled around to see his brother's limping form. Grey slowly walked over and sniffed, scanning over Pyro's wounds. His eyebrows rose, void of any concern. There was a large gash across the Flareon's chest that was still dripping with blood, and there were heavy bruises all over his body.

"Well, it seems like you got yourself into a bit of trouble," Grey remarked with amusement. Pyro growled.

"You have to get out of here! There's a Ishi member here and he-"

"Oh shut up." Grey shot a Shadow Ball irritatingly at his brother, sending him airborne. He smiled as the fire type's body, impacted a nearby tree, his brother yowled in pain as the collision gave off a satisfying crack.

"Why the hell did you-!"

"You shouldn't really talk right now. Your ribs are broken." Grey's dark smile curled up into a sneer. "Though I wouldn't care less if you were killed, it'll be a pain if Dusk is after my tail, so I'll let you off with some minor injuries for now."

Pyro stared up at his brother in shock. He struggled to get up, bet was immediately met with intense pain shooting through his chest. "What are you talking about? Are you betraying the clan?"

"Idiot," The smaller male rolled his eyes in annoyance and began walking away. "I'm saving your life." Ignoring the Flareon's confused look, he dashed off deeper into the woods.

Grey huffed a bit as he reached the clearing near the border of Carina territory. It was the same field that Ren and the others got attacked in the other day, and there were still splatters of blood on the meadow's soil. The Umbreon came roughly to a stop and spun around.

"I know you're there, so come out! Unless of course if the Ishi are just a bunch of cowards," Grey growled threateningly. A nearby bush rustled quietly. Silently stepping out of hiding was a large Buizel. He came to a stop before the Carina healer and sat on his front legs, his eyes sparking fiercely with bloodlust. The hair on the back of Grey's neck bristled slightly. The smell of heavy blood hung onto this stranger's pelt strongly as if he bathed in it.

The Buizel grinned maniacally, flashing his fangs. "Well, it's true that most of the grunts in our clan _are_ lousy cowards, but unfortunately for you, I'm not one of them."

"Oh really now? I heard that all Ishi pokemon are big scared-y cats." The blind healer remarked. The Buizel's smile widened. The water type dropped onto all fours and casually walked up to him, so closely so that their fur brushed up gently. Grey's ears twitched in anxiety. He could feel his bloody breath on his neck, tickling his pelt slightly.

"Well, there are always exceptions. Doesn't that apply to you too?" His two orange tails curled around Grey's front paws teasingly as he rested his head on the dark type's shoulder. "I always thought that the Carinas were all peace-loving idiots. Ha! You're quite a sight for sore eyes. Those other folks that I killed were all _booooring. _They barely even fought back when I tore their throats out."

Grey felt a shiver go down his spine. Was this guy serious? The Buizel's tongue flicked out and dabbed at his ear, making him jump.

"But I think I like you. You're pretty…feisty."

The healer snarled and threw the bigger male off of him, firing a barrage of attacks right after only to find that the orange weasel dodged them with ease. He growled as the Buizel landed lightly on his feet.

"Ho ho, not bad. I'm surprised that you would even let me come that close," He chuckled and licked some blood off his stained paw. Looking up at the Umbreon he smacked his lips hungrily. "You're delicious…"

Grey cursed under his breath as he felt a trickle of scarlet drip down from his neck. When did he do that, and how did he not even feel it? He better start getting serious.

The Buizel smirked, easily sidestepping out of the way as the healer lunged at him. "You're going to have to do better than that."

"Oh really?" The Ishi member suddenly stumbled backwards, bright light flooding his eyes. Just as quickly as it came, the light was gone, but the world strangely felt as though it was spinning around him like a whirlwind. _Confuse ray?_ He felt himself get pinned to the ground and heard a triumphant huff from above him. _He thinks he won now does he?_

"I'm not about to get beat by a healer!" The next thing Grey knew, he was being thrown into the air like a leaf cause in a freak storm. He could vaguely make out chunks of soil and stone flying airborne with him. The wind was knocked out of him as soon as hit the ground, pain shooting through him like lightning.

The Umbreon struggled to get up, and when he did there were no words that could possibly describe his shock. Even if he couldn't see it, feeling the vibes of the area was enough. The ground was promptly split open, huge jagged cracks running in every direction like an earthquake had just struck the entire field. In the center of the mess, the Buizel grinned at him with an air of superiority.

"That was just a minor Sonicboom," The water type announced smugly. "And if you think that's bad, then you haven't seen a thing yet."

"And if you think you can get away with attacking my apprentice, then you're dead." The two fighting pokemon jumped and looked up to see Fern calmly walking into the scene. The grass type raised his eyebrows at Grey on the ground.

"Grey, get back to camp. There's a rather large crowd waiting in the medicine den." Fern flicked his tail with an air of authority. The apprentice looked like he wanted to argue for a moment, but thought better of it and scampered back to camp. Fern then faced the Buizel with a soft grin.

"What are you smiling about?" The orange weasel snapped. He looked rather disappointed seeing Grey disappear back into the forest.

"So you're the so-called 'beast' I heard the Ishi talking about," The healer said in amusement. "Now I know why they all call you a natural born killer. You even have the attitude to go with it."

"Just shut up and die already!" The Buizel snapped and lunged toward Fern. The Leafeon made no effort to move aside. Smirking bestially, the Ishi member plunged his claws into Fern's chest directly over his heart.

Then came a spurt of blood, but not as much as he expected. The Buizel's eyes widened as he realized he hadn't even pierced the skin. Fern took a deep breath and the bleeding promptly stopped. With a flick of a tail, the weasel was thrown another few good yards away from him.

"Try all you want, but know this. I will_ never_ die in battle, you hear me?" The healer nodded casually. It was true; his healing powers were much more potent than that of a regular Leafeon. He had learned this long ago and developed and technique where he used Synthesis so quickly that there was no time for wounds to form. "You may be a killing prodigy, but I do think that when two prodigies meet, the fight is equal."

The 'beast' snarled angrily, but before he could do anything, Fern had already turned around and began departing.

"Leave. I don't feel like killing anyone today." Fern huffed. He didn't look to see if the Ishi member left. In fact, he could care less. He had patients to take care of.

**(…)**

"Grey, you really should-"

"No! I'm not going anywhere near him!" The said Umbreon snapped from across the medicine den. Fern sighed. What was he to do? His paws were literally full from all the patients he had. Seriously, he was about to drop dead from anxiety. Imagine their Alpha's shock when they told her all this was done by only one Ishi member.

One relieving thought through all this was that Grey treated the other half of the injured clan members tenderly, which was rather odd for the moody dark type, but when faced with the broken body of his brother, he just snapped.

"Grey," Fern growled warningly as he gently applied goldenrod poultice on a wounded Growlithe's leg. "Your brother's bleeding to death in a corner. Go help him."

"I said no!" The Umbreon snarled. "If you really want me to treat him, I will. But he's not coming out alive!" He turned back to Kara, who received several nasty claw marks down his back, but nothing too serious. The Ninetails twitched slightly when Grey matted down chewed marigold petals on his wounds, but showed no signs of complaint.

Fern's face washed over with relief as he heard someone come into the den.

"Oh, thank Arceus! Aster, could you give me a hand and take care of Pyro for me?" The entering Quilava smiled and nodded pleasantly. Aster acted as the clan's well-liked nest maid. Every day, he would perform simple chores like taking care of the elders and kits, and cleaning out old dens. He could have been a healer or a warrior if he wanted to, but the timid fire type didn't have to capacity to stay cooped up in the medicine den all day, nor did he have the strength or heart to face others in combat.

Aster gently nudged Pyro's sleeping form, coaxing a muffled groan of pain from him.

"Aster, what do you want?" The Flareon trembled as he tried to sit up.

"I'm here to take care of my denmate," The Quilava said in his usual soft voice and carefully began to clean the blood off of Pyro's chest with his tongue. An unseen blush instantly swamped through the Flareon's red fur.

"Denmate? You always get up at the crack of dawn and come back to the den in the middle of the night! I never get to see you-" Pyro bit back a moan midsentence as the moist organ accidental brushed against his right nipple. Aster didn't seem to notice as he continued cleaning.

"I-I'm busy most of the time and the kits in the nursery are really a handful…" The Quilava smiled innocently as he stroked through his fellow fire type's neck, sweeping out bits of dried blood. "A-anyways, how are things with you and Grey?"

An indignant 'hmph' came from the other side of the den. Pyro sighed at his brother's stubbornness. "Does that answer your question? He broke two of my ribs for Arceus' sake!"

"W-well," The Quilava leaned up against Pyro as he began brushing the back of his neck, fidgeting slightly. "In a way, I think he tried to save you…"

"What? By killing me?" The Flareon snapped. Aster jumped and shrunk back, almost fear swimming in his eyes from the sudden outburst. Pyro immediately felt a pang of guilt for putting it there. "Explain," He demanded in a softer tone of voice.

"U-um," Aster hesitantly went back to his cleaning. "Well, to start with, you would have been an easy target for that Ishi person since you were injured. I think Grey attacked you so you wouldn't be able to fight so that the Ishi wouldn't see you as a threat."

Pyro eyed his ill-tempered brother doubtfully. "You think so?"

"Y-yeah," The Quilava smiled into his patient's fur. "I mean-"

"Hey Fern!" Everyone in the medicine den jumped in surprise as Frost and Ren came trotting in. "We got moss pads that you wanted!"

"Oh good," The healer walked up to nuzzle the ice fox's neck as he greeted them. "You can put them over there in the corner." The two apprentices nodded. Fern smiled at the two of them, enjoying the rare moment when the two of them actually worked together instead of destroying everything in sight. "Oh, before you two leave, could you go get some comfrey roots for us? It's a plant with big leaves and these little bell flowers. We need them for Pyro's broken bones over there."

The two younger males groaned in the frustration of having to spend another moment together, but nodded anyways. This was not the time to be arguing.

Fern smiled at their retreating backs before picking up a moss pad and soaked it in water. "Aster! Here, you can use this to clean him up instead. You don't have to use your tongue every time you know."

Both fire types blushed scarlet.

**(…)**

"Urgh, will you hurry up? I wanna get this over with so I can get a rest," Ren huffed in irritation as they strolled through the forest, darkening with the approach of night.

Frost's eyes narrowed. Growling slightly, he trotted the other direction with a brisk flick of his tail. His denmate frowned.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" The Luxio called after him. The ice fox rolled his eyes before letting out a snarl.

"I don't know what your problem is, but if you hate me that much, just say so!" Frost yelled. He disappeared into the forest, scattering leaves and breaking branches at his wake. Ren just stood there, speechless. It felt like an icicle just pierced his heart. He didn't mean that, did he? Sure he liked picking fights and poking fun, but that doesn't actually mean that he hates him.

The electric type sighed before rushing after the retreating ice fox. Who knew that he was so sensitive? The fur on the back of his neck bristled as he suddenly realized he couldn't hear him anymore. The possibility of Frost stopping in his outburst didn't seem very high. The thought of the ice type being attacked swam through Ren's mind and he quickened his pace.

The Luxio was taken aback when he found Frost lying in a heap in the middle of the clearing. He was unconscious and drenched in his own sweat, tossing in turning as if he was being tormented by the deadliest of beasts.

Before he knew it, Ren found himself washed over with worry, something that he never felt for another before. As gently as he could, he picked up his denmate by the scruff and carefully headed back to camp. Frost thrashed about in his sleep, his breathing hitching and panting every now and then. Ren would be lying if he said he didn't care.

Fern almost had a cow when he saw his poor Frost in such a state. "What the heck happened?" The grass type screeched hysterically and ushered the two of them into their den (The medicine den was full by the time they came back).

Ren carefully laid the ice fox on a bed of grass. "I don't know. He was just like that when I found him."

"You better have not done anything to him," Fern hissed as he placed a soaked pad of moss on Frost's forehead."

The Luxio shook his head roughly. "Ok, I know that I've been a jerk lately, but I swear I didn't."

"Leave," The healer growled distractedly as he checked the unconscious Eon's pulse. Ren's ears dipped slightly with hurt, but did as he was told. Fern sighed in frustration. Frost was getting a fever, a high one at that. Was he getting ill? Possible, since he did fall into a river the other day and he was acting like in a daze the entire day.

Fern looked up abruptly at the said Glaceon. Frost was mumbling something incoherent in his sleep, pain jolting through his face at every moment. He leaned in closer.

"C-Cloud…" The ice fox gasped out suddenly. Fern jumped in surprise. Cloud? Was Frost having a dream about his older brother? The healer felt his heart wretch painfully, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Cloud had been such a cold loner when he first met him, but now with him gone…Fern couldn't help but yearn for him to return.

Frost suddenly jolted awake, blue eyes filled with utmost terror. The eon struggled to sit up, shaking slightly from the effort.

"F-Fern!" The younger male immediately buried his face into the healer's chest, sobbing uncontrollably. He leaned up against the warmth of Fern's pelt as he cried and cried and cried, soaking it in tears while doing so.

Fern didn't know what to do. He gingerly, yet firmly wrapped his leafy tail around the apprentice and licked the top of his head comfortingly. Frost slowly calmed down from the administrations, his breathing relaxing against his own. The two of them sat there together for a few long moments each other's embrace, enjoying each other's comfort. Finally, Fern spoke.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He whispered softly into Frost's ear. The ice fox gulped, nodding meekly.

"Y-yeah…" He replied shakily. Frost looked up at the healer with timid eyes. "Um, Fern… Have you ever loved someone a lot but they just suddenly… went away? Without saying good-bye?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," Fern smiled at the bittersweet memory. "I had a mate. He (yes, my mate was a male) was a bit of a jerk when I first met him, but we got along afterwards. As I got to know him, he turned out to be the kindest, bravest warrior I ever met."

"R-really? Who was he?" The apprentice asked curiously. The grass type smiled at his innocent eyes.

"He was a Glaceon, like yourself. He had eyes as blue as the sky, and his smile would make me feel like the luckiest pokemon alive. And I could never forget his voice…" Fern trailed off, falling into a warm daze. "Every time I heard it, it felt like nothing could ever go wrong…"

"What happened to him?" Frost snuggled closer into Fern's chest. The said Leafeon's ears drooped slightly.

"Well, like you said, he went away without saying good-bye. And that-" He sighed and rested his head on top of Frost's. "-was the last I ever seen of him."

"W-wow, I'm sorry…" The ice fox said empathetically. "My brother was sorta like that too. H-he passed away the day before I came here."

"Go on."

"He was really nice to me all the time. When we were both with our human, he would always leave most of his food for me, and he was always there when I needed him. I remember how we used to watch the sunrise every morning. But…" Tears began dripping down his face once more. Fern gently lapped them away as he continued. "The two of us both hated being with our human, so last week, my brother told me that we would run away together. He said that he sneaked away at night and made friends in the forest, and that they would let us live with them. But the day we left, our human wouldn't let us go, so my brother stayed behind and told me to follow the river. Then I fell in and Dusk found me, so here I am."

Frost wept quietly into Fern's shoulder. "Now, every night I'm afraid to sleep. I keep getting nightmares and-"

"You used Ren's snoring last night as an excuse to why you couldn't sleep." Fern realized softly. The younger male averted guilty eyes, almost ashamed. Fern laughed and draped his tail on his shoulder like a scarf, pressing their foreheads together with their noses touching. Frost blushed from their closeness, looking into Fern's brilliant green eyes meekly.

"Now listen to me. I will promise you, from now on, that you will never have a bad dream again," Fern said through a comforting smile. Frost's eyes widened with surprise.

"H-how would you do that?"

"Because now, you'll know that I'll always be by your side when you wake up," Fern's tail suddenly shone with Synthesis lulling both of them into the dream world with the promise of a peaceful sleep.

Little did they know that someone was right outside the den, listening.

**(…)**

Kara, upon entering his den, was tackled to the ground by his always-worrying brother. He couldn't actually say that he was surprised. Noru was always such a worry wart since they were still kits.

"Kara! Kara! Are you alright? When I heard that you got the crap kicked out of you by a Buizel I almost-"

"What?" The older Ninetails growled and flipped their positions, pinning Noru to the den floor. "Who the heck said that? It makes me sound like a big weakling!"

The younger sibling giggled cutely. "Fern did actually. He said that the Buizel picked you up with one paw and threw you over a bush. Was it true?"

"W-well…" Kara looked away guiltily. There was no way he could lie to those eyes. "Yes."

Noru laughed and licked his brother's cheek reassuringly. "Aw, don't feel bad. We all have one of those days."

"I guess…" Kara loosened his grip on him and rested on top of the smaller male. The younger Ninetails blushed when he felt his brother's warm pelt press against his own. He meeped in surprise and tried to push him off, but to no avail. Kara noticed this and smirked.

"What? Does being this close make you uncomfortable?" He asked, breathing into his ear. Noru felt a shiver go down his spine, adding more color to his blush.

"N-no! But still, why are you being so close?" The younger male squeaked as his brother began nibbling at his ear affectionately, smirking hungrily at his reaction.

"I'm in the mood," He whispered simply. Kara smirked to himself, savoring the feeling of licking through his younger brother's neck. As he nipped at the sensitive flesh, his brother involuntarily moaned and mewled in pleasure like music to his ears.

The soft noises coming from his muzzle drove the Ninetails to continue, moving down the younger male's slender form. Noru squealed in protest as he approached his neither regions, but his body just sang to be touched. As Kara slid down toward forbidden territory, he made sure to rub every part of his brother's delicious body as he went.

The elder sibling stood up and gazed into his brother's gleaming red eyes, filled with a mixture of lust and love, not to mention embarrassment. Oh, how he love that face. He leaned in and ever so gently pressed his lips against his brother's. Noru kissed back passionately, relishing the soft texture of his brother's tongue. The feeling was indescribable.

Their kiss went one for a few moments before the need for air broke them apart. Smiling at his brother's blush, Kara moved down and began suckling at his nipple, coaxing another round of delicious moans from his mouth. He inhaled as he twirled his tongue around the hardening nub, taking in the masculine scent of arousal.

"K-Kara!" Noru managed to gasp out. "Stop…ah!...teasing me…"

He laughed and rested his chin on the slim Ninetail's chest. "Aw, have I ever told you how cute you are when you beg whine like that?" He could see another wave of heat flow over the younger male's cheeks. Kara licked him over his muzzle. "So, what do you want to do, my sweet?"

"I-I…uh…." Noru's voice trailed off in embarrassment. He was never one for dirty talk. "C-can I…taste you?"

Now it was Kara's turn to blush. "Of course."

He scooted off of his brother and lay on his back, exposing his full glory. Noru was instantly hit with a wave of musky scent, turning him on even more. Kara was just so…big. At least seven inches of red flesh protruded from his neither regions, begging to be tasted.

Noru leaned over the member and gave it an experimental lick. He heard Kara let out a loud gasp and a squirt of pre trickled off the tip. His tongue was quick to lap it up, savoring the salty flavor. He looked up at his brother for a moment, smiling shyly at his lustful face.

A breeze passed through the den. It sent cold tingling sensations through Kara's cock, causing him to whine loudly. He could feel his brother's warm breath against his leaking member, and his wet tongue slithering pleasingly over the tip.

"Dammit Noru, quit teasing!" He hissed in frustration. He was just so horny right now.

The younger fox smiled and let his mouth linger ever so slightly over the warm cock. "Say please, big brother." Kara growled as a giggle escaped his lips, sending vibrations through his sex.

"Grr…P-please…" The older sibling managed to groan out as he felt his brother's hot mouth envelope his dick. He didn't even bother ranting at him about calling him 'big brother.'

The air was suddenly thick with Kara's moans and whimpers while the younger Ninetails worked at his cock. He could only take two thirds of it into his muzzle, but was content nonetheless. Noru meeped through his mouthful when he felt one of his brother's silky tails glide between his hind legs and wrap around his own member, pumping gently. He smiled at the feeling and worked extra hard at the red organ in his mouth. Soon afterwards, he could feel his brother getting close.

Noru gasped as he was roughly pulled off of his brother's member and pushed onto his back. Kara was right over him, pinning him down with paws on either side of his chest.

"Now now, I can't cum this early now can I?" Kara whispered seductively into his ear. Noru squealed when he felt his brother's long length touching his entrance, tracing around the edges teasingly.

"P-please be gentle…" He whimpered submissively. The dominate canine smiled warmly into his eyes.

"Of course. How could I bear to hurt someone with such a cute face?" He felt a tongue lap comfortingly at his ear. "Are you ready?"

Noru nodded. As soon as Kara's cock entered him, he began hissing painfully. Kara stopped worriedly and licked the tears off his little brother's face.

"Are you sure-?"

"Y-yes! D-don't mind me, j-just keep going…" Noru breathed. Kara paused before continuing.

The younger sibling mewled in both ecstasy and pain as he felt the hot member in his tailhole slide deeper. Gulping quietly, he leaned up to give his brother another kiss as he hilted him.

As they both swapped saliva, the pain slowly began to ebb away until he just felt…full. Noru pushed back into Kara's phallus, signaling him to keep going. The other Ninetails slowly pulled out of the hot, moist cave, all the while pumping his brother's dick with his tail.

Before long, they began to pick up the pace. Noru's breath grew more and more ragged, delicious and delicate moans escaping his muzzle. Kara suddenly decided to change the angles of his thrusts. His smirked as his brother gasped out in surprise, waves upon waves of pleasure washing over them as he continually hit his sweet spot with all his might.

Noru began thrusting upward into the warm, delicate tail that held his member, desperate to release. His brother noticed his attempts and leaned closer, increasing the friction between them. He gasped at the feel of Kara's firm abdomen against the tip of his dick, threatening to push him over the edge.

"B-big brother…ah…I…ah…gonna…"

Noru threw his head back with a moan of delight and spilt his seed all over his and his brother's chest, covering them both with his juices. Kara groaned, his brother's tailhole tightening in his orgasm. The heat and tension proved too much for him to handle. The older Ninetails let out a heavy whine of pleasure before emptying his love into the smaller male.

They both collapsed on their den floor, exhausted from their love session. Panting slightly, Kara dipped down and gave Noru another deep kiss.

"Love you little bother."

"Love you too Ka-"

"Ah-hem."

Grey listened in amusement as the two Ninetails literally jumped up in shock. Noru involuntarily gave a mew of pleasure from his brother moving while still inside of him, adding to their embarrassment.

"G-Grey! What the heck are you doing here!" The mentor squeaked under his heavy blush.

"Well," The blind healer turned to leave, smiling in spite of himself. "I was going to come and check Kara's wounds, but it doesn't seem like he's in pain anymore. Good night~"

* * *

><p><strong>BCY: So, how was it?<strong>

**Kara: I hate you…**

**Fern: Aw… that was so cute! I love it!**

**Grey: Fern, you're getting a nosebleed.**

**Pine: *innocently* What are they doing?**

**Fern: Oh, they're just having s-**

**Noru: Spare his innocence you perv.**

**BCY: Ok then. I hoped you all liked it, even though it's only my first. Anyway, here's a chart of our new characters, along with some info.**

**Characters:**

Aster: 17 years old. His name comes from a type of wildflower. ^^;

Pyro: 18 years old. Grey's brother. His name means 'fire' in Latin.

Unnamed Buizel: 16 years old. From the Ishi. Is a killing prodigy.

**Others:**

Carina: The clan in the forest. Their name comes from a constellation and I chose it cuz it sounded like "canine." :P

Ishi: Outcast clan in the mountains. 'Ishi" means stone in Japanese.

Mizu: Mysterious clan in the lake. 'Mizu' means water in Japanese.

Bosque: Unknown forest clan. 'Bosque' means forest in Spanish.


	4. Dicentra

**BCY: Well, another great and fabulous chapter, coming right up- ACHOO!~**

**Kara: What the heck is wrong with you today?**

**BCY: Urgh, sorry. I've been sick for the last few days and I feel like my head's about to drop off my shoulders. I know! To thank me for working so hard even through my ill state of health, you readers should review my story!  
><strong>

**Kara: He just wants to make sure he's not alone in the world.**

**BCY: Normally, I would argue and do something stupid, but I feel a tad too sick. Just "on with the story!" and all that good stuff- ACHOO! Oh yeah, and I just put up a poll on my profile here. Could you guys tell me what pairings you support? It'll help me get a good idea of which one's most liked. Thank you!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Up high in the mountains, a lone Buizel stalked in a broken stride toward the summit. His muscles were burning slightly with pain, and his head felt fuzzy. Damn that healer. He must have put some sort of suppressant in his own blood. Granted, it was partially his own fault for developing the habit of licking his enemies' blood off of his paws, but of course that didn't make him feel any better.<p>

His name was Dicentra. He had no idea why his parents would want to name him after a flower, but it was quite befitting. After all, dicentra flowers were shaped like little red hearts that were somehow torn open, thus their nickname, "bleeding hearts."

"Well, well, look who came back all roughed up," Dicentra's eyebrows rose at the oh-so-annoying voice. It was his mentor, Fang. Of course, he never actually learned anything from the pompous Houndoom, but the fire type stilled liked to hold the fact over his head. "I thought you said you could handle that entire clan of losers without a scratch?"

"Shaddap," Dicentra snapped roughly. Had it been any other day, he would have ripped the cocky mentor to shreds. Oh, why did that moronic Leafeon just _have_ to poison him? He made a quick mental note to make the healer's death long and painful when they met again.

Ignoring Fang's growl of distain, he made his way through the camp toward their Alpha's den. The heavy smell of blood washed over his nose as he entered. Sure, Dicentra had always enjoyed the coppery taste of it, but their Alpha's scent was so potent that it managed to send cold shivers down his spine. It was as it the leader was made of blood from hell itself. Just thinking about it makes him want to gag.

"Night," Dicentra called out as he unceremoniously marched into the stone cave of the mountain. "I'm back."

"…" Only silence answered his announcement. To be completely honest, Dicentra had never seen the Alpha's face before, despite their numerous interactions. He had always hid behind the shadows in the back of the cave, showing only two, blood-red orbs he calls eyes.

"Uh, Night?" Dicentra felt sweat start to slide down his brow.

"You…seemed to have had some trouble…" The low voice murmured. He felt his blood run cold. The Alpha's voice, although soft and quiet, drove some strange force through his skull, like a long silver needle stabbing into his head. Every muscle in his body screamed for him to run, but he fought the urge. His still had to keep his pride, didn't he? What would the great "beast" look like if he fled from someone just talking to him?

"Nah, besides that Carina Alpha and one of the healers, the lot of them are just a bunch of wimps," Dicentra laughed. "I don't know why you would even bother worryin' about declaring war with them. We could wipe them out in an instant."

"Was there a Glaceon among their ranks?" The Alpha, or Night as he was called, growled coldly. His Buizel subordinate shivered slightly before taking a step back. He had only been in the den for a couple minutes and he already felt like he was going to drop dead from anxiety. How did one pokemon's voice manage to do this?

"Well, yeah, I think I saw one talking with a Luxio on my way back,"

Night's growl grew fiercer. "Cloud," He spat sharply. "He's staying with those damn Carina, now isn't he?" His voice seemed to speak more to himself than to his trembling subordinate.

"Who's this Cloud you're talking about?" Dicentra fought desperately to stop his involuntary shudders.

"Cloud," The Alpha growled the name hatefully. "Was the reason why we lost to the Carina in our last war. That damn human pet killed half of our clan without even raising a paw." He calmed down slightly, the anger slowly fading in his voice. "But why did he allow you to butcher so many of the clan members? Perhaps he is incapable in some way…"

"I'm guessing that you want me to go and hunt down this Cloud person, right?" Dicentra said.

"You? Ha, don't make me laugh! The likes of you wouldn't even be able to even _touch_ Cloud, let alone kill him," Night chuckled a bit, highly amused. "If you want to be turned into a living ice cube, then by all means do so! But your orders are this: investigate Cloud and his current condition, and by no means blow your cover by engaging him in a battle."

"Got it," The Buizel nodded before scampering out of the den as quickly as his paws could carry him. He gulped in as much fresh air as he possibly could, washing away the thick scent of dark blood from his nose before grinning to himself.

"Well you seem rather happy today," Fang remarked as he walked up to him. Dicentra flashed his fangs in a toothy smirk.

"Of course," He stretched out his sore limbs lazily. It seems like the poison was wearing off. "I'm about to go back to kill some time at the Carina's."

"Why the hell would you be happy about going to those weaklings?" The Houndoom huffed in disgust. Dicentra smirked.

"I got my eye on one of 'em," He licked his lips with anticipation. "He's feisty, just my type of guy."

Fang raised his eyebrows. "What are you going to do with him?"

Dicentra laughed before strolling down the mountain, flicking his two tails leisurely.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna make him my bitch."

**(…)**

Frost huffed slightly at himself as he made his way to the Gathering Rock for the usual morning announcement. Fern was practically smothering him with hugs and snuggles, as usual, but that wasn't what was bothering him. Where the heck was Ren? That jerk wasn't there when they woke-up this morning. Noru, along with the whole clan, was quite shocked that they weren't up by the usual explosions they caused. Not that they

were complaining.

Frost glanced around. The attack from yesterday pretty much left the clan in shambles, but the ones that were injured were recovering quickly. He could see Pyro among the group near the medicine den being tended to by a Quilava. Kara was doing fine himself, although he and Noru smelled a little funny this morning. Grey had commented on it this morning with a knowing smirk and they both blushed. Weird.

He shook the thought out of his head as he turned his attention to Dusk on the Gathering Rock. Boring announcements, explanations on the attack yesterday, yadda yadda yadda. Couldn't she talk about something that was new?

The Glaceon soon found himself losing interest of the speech as it ended and scanned around the crowd. Where was Ren? It wasn't like the Luxio to just leave them. He usually told everyone with his big mouth about where he was going with some great boastful and exaggerated reason to go along with it.

"Frost." The ice fox turned around.

"Oh, good morning Grey. What's up?" He greeted. The Umbreon sighed with annoyance.

"You and Ren are on hunting patrol for today," His voice sounded tired. He probably is, seeing as he was up all night tending to the injured. Speaking of that… "Fern!" The dark type snapped at the said Leafeon heatedly. "I don't care if you get all lovey-dovey with Frost, but as a mentor, at least remember that there were patients to take care of! I ended up doing all the work last night! Geez."

"Oh," Fern's ears twitched. A comical shocked expression spread quickly across his face. "I completely forgot about that! Sorry Grey!" With that, he tackled him and started strangling him in an all-too-friendly hug. Grey thrashed wildly under his weight and glanced at Frost pleadingly for help.

Frost gave the other apprentice a quick look of sympathy before walking away. Yes! Fern was finally out of his fur! Sure, Grey was going to murder him later for leaving the flirty Leafeon with him, but at least he could have a moment of peace to himself.

He looked on curiously as he noticed Ren behind one of the dens, arguing discreetly irritably with Dusk. He felt tempted to go and see what they were saying, but Noru would surely bash his ears together for eavesdropping. Well, whatever the dispute was about, it looked like Ren won judging from their Alpha's sigh of defeat.

Ren made his way toward the Gathering Rock when an Espeon suddenly launched herself at him flirtingly.

"Hey, Ren," The psychic type cooed seducingly as she rubbed her head against the electric type's chest. "Are you going off on patrols? I can come with you, you know. We can do a lot of fun things together, don't you think?

"No!" He snapped before roughly pushing the female off his shoulder. "Cherry, stop doing this stuff to me. How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not interested!"

The Espeon gave him a look of hurt, which was quickly ignored. Frost watched the two from a distance. He felt a painful lurch in his stomach. Jealousy? No, that can't be it.

The Luxio perked up when he caught sight of Frost and practically dragged him to the hunting grounds in a hasty manner.

"What the heck are do you think you're doing? And put me down, I can walk on my own!" He growled angrily at the larger male. Ren grunted before setting him back down on the forest floor.

"We're on hunting patrol today, aren't we? Now hurry up and get working! We're going to have to get twice as much as usual in half the time." Ren sighed and ran further into the forest. Frost scrambled after him quickly.

"Wait, why do we have to get so much?" He huffed, struggling to catch up.

"If we get enough by noon, Dusk will let us go off on our own.," The electric type replied.

Frost's face fell. "Oh, so you just don't want to be anywhere near me, right?"

Ren frowned, shaking his head quickly. "What are you talking about? We have, um, another assignment after that." He said, a bit too hurriedly.

"Another assignment?" For an instant, Frost almost felt relieved, but then he shook the thought out of his head. Why would he feel relieved that he was going to stay with that jerk? Frowning slightly, he focused back on keeping up with Ren.

"Yeah, but I'll tell you about it after we're finished. Now hurry up and get to work, got it?"

"Geez, you're always so pushy."

"I'm just trying to get things done!"

"That's kinda hard to believe. You act kinda lazy sometimes."

"Me? Lazy? Why you little piece of-"

"What did you just call me?"

"Well it's the truth, isn't it?"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Now you're just acting like a kit."

"Oh, and you're not?"

"Just shut up."

**(…)**

Pine stared depressingly around camp. It wasn't like his character to be like this, but he was depressed nonetheless. He had no idea why this feeling kept picking at his heart, painful longings digging away in his being. Why is it that everyone around here had someone else? Ren always had a crowd of unwanted females fawning over him for his title as the strongest apprentice. Frost had Fern (although the ice type didn't actually looked like it was voluntary). Pyro had Aster, even if the two of them hadn't got the guts to admit it to each other. And Kara had Noru, which he found out this morning. The smell on the two of them made it obvious.

Grey was single, but he doesn't really count. He doubted that the dark type even had a sex drive anyway. He always buried himself in the medicine den. Who in the world would want to be with someone like that? But, on the other paw, he wasn't in any better position himself.

Pine let out another gloomy sigh before deciding to take a walk along the lake west of the camp. He could see why Grey liked to let out his anger here. The constant breeze always helped clear out his thoughts and allowed him to think better. And yes, he had a brain, on the contrary to popular belief.

Why didn't he have anyone yet? Was it because he acted to childish? Or maybe he wasn't strong enough. Ren's strength always brings him a ton of attention. Thoughts plagued the normal type's mind as he gingerly waded into the water, enjoying the refreshing feel.

He always thought that love just came with age and that he would find someone eventually. But now he's the only one in his den without a mate, or at least a crush. Was something wrong with him that didn't let him feel love for someone else? Pine made sure to try tand be nice to everyone he knew, but no one made him feel any different. Nothing filled that empty hole inside him. Maybe he should just give u-

"Eep!" Pine let out a strangled yelp as he felt a current suddenly drag him under. Water quickly surrounded him on all sides, threatening to squeeze the life out of him. Pine was never a good swimmer. He always sank like a rock whenever Noru tried to show they how to swim across the lake.

His wavering thoughts were quickly washed out of his head as lake water pushed its way into this throat, burning as it went deeper into his windpipe. The world was spinning around him as Pine sank deeper, being swept further away from the coast by the current. He could barely tell which way was up or down as he fought his way toward the surface, muscles screaming for oxygen.

For a moment, Pine thought he was free. Breaking through the surface, he spluttered wildly, trying to remove the water from his lungs. That was until a huge wave suddenly enveloped him without warning. He felt himself being thrown roughly underwater again. The last Pine could remember was bashing his head against a nearby rock before blacking out.

**(…)**

The noon sun beat down on Frost mercilessly as he hauled another pile of prey into the storage den, sweat dripping heavily down his muzzle. He was an ice type for Arceus' sake! Was Mother Nature trying to kill him with he jumbo flashlight or something?

"I'm dead!" The ice fox huffed before throwing himself down on a nearby pile of moss. Ren trotted into the den, unloading another pile of prey with ease.

"Oh, come on human pet. This is nothing," He smirked, laughing to himself slightly. "On the bright side, I think we're pretty much done. Good thing I managed to get most of the prey we needed."

"There you go bragging again." Frost rolled his eyes. "I don't really think that shooting a huge Thunder Wave in random directions count as hunting. And you made my fur all frizzy again!"

"You're a real chore, you know that?" Ren muttered before making his way back outside. Frost groaned, reluctantly following.

"So what was that second assignment you were talking about?" he asked curiously on their way to the river. Upon sighting the water, the ice fox ran ahead of them and diving into the water, sighing with a refreshing air. Ren couldn't help but smile at himself slightly at the sight of Frost doing something so kit-like. It was almost cute in a way. As soon as the thought came to his mind, he shook his head violently before dipping down and getting a drink. Must be the summer heat that's getting to him.

"Ren? Hello, I'm talking to you!" The said Luxio blinked, noticing the ice fox's paw waving in his face. "You still haven't answered my question yet."

"Oh, sorry. I was kinda dozing off," He muttered. A mischievous grin appeared on Frost's face as he made his way out of the water. Ren yelped in surprise, his face suddenly soaked. He growled with irritation while Frost smiled back, looking pleased.

"Loosen up will you? You're worse than Grey sometimes," The ice fox laughed and batted Ren's nose with his tail. He suddenly squeaked loudly when the Luxio bluntly bulldozed him into the water.

"Serves you right," Ren smirked, but his smile quickly disappeared when Frost dragged him down with him.

After a quick spat that ended with Ren getting covered with snow and Frost's fur becoming all frizzy with static, they finally returned to the topic of their mission, which Ren was a bit rusty on the details for some reason.

"Come on, just tell me! I know you're hiding something!" The ice fox whined and pounced on Ren's back, albeit playfully. It didn't help in any way when Ren decided to keep moving through the forest with Frost still attached to him.

"You are such a kit, you know that?" He growled as they neared the mountains. The Glaceon replied with a simple, "I know," and continued harassing him with nonstop pouts and complaints until he finally just gave up.

"Fine," Ren muttered. "We're supposed to be finding the home that your human stays in."

Frost froze, the hair on the back of his neck raised. The argument between the Luxio and their Alpha immediately popped up in his mind. He glared at Ren. "You're planning to dump me back in my old home, aren't you?" He snarled. "What? You can't deal with a human pet like me being in the same clan as you? What the hell do you think I am, so lowly piece of trash that you can just throw away? Let me tell you, I-"

"_Shut up_," Ren snapped. "At least let me finish what I'm trying to say will you?"

Frost fell silent, but the tension in his eyes remained the same.

Ren sighed. "Our mission is to rescue or recover the body of your brother, Cloud."

Eyes widened as shock coursed through his body. "W-wait," He stuttered. "Does that mean you argued with Dusk this morning just to let me come with you?"

"Don't make any assumptions," Ren murmured and started walking away. "I just didn't want people to see that I have a denmate that faints every other day whining about how his brother got killed or whatnot."

Frost bit his lips, guilt flooding his mind for his previous accusation. "Th-thanks…" he whispered so quietly that Ren could barely hear him.

"Whatever," The Luxio briskly dismissed his apology. "Now lead the way. I have no clue where your stinkin' human home is."

The ice fox let out an irritated huff before dashing off ahead of him. Ren might have the heart to do something nice once in a while, but he still was a big jerk.

**(…)**

Grey cursed loudly to himself as he tripped over another log in the field. He had a lot to be pissed off about, that was for sure, and Fern was probably at the top of that list. First the damn Leafeon nearly suffocates him with his stupid hugs, and now he runs off somewhere when he actually needs him to gather herbs. Usually in this case, he would bring Pine along with him, but that moron was nowhere to be found either.

Inhaling sharply, he scoured the area for any sign of marigold flowers. How he wished that he could just see the stupid plant instead of having to smell them out, but he was blind. Nothing could be done about that.

Grey's eyebrows rose slightly as his paws brushed up against some sort of plant. Odd, he's never noticed this type of flower before. As a healer, it was his duty to have a wide array of knowledge of every plant in the area. And of course, he was rather curious as well.

Prodding the blossom with his nose, he mused that the flower petals made somewhat of an arc and curled downwards into a shape of a heart. Its nectar gave off a pleasant sweetness, but some of it dripped down the opening of the flower and seeped into the ground.

"Weird," Grey muttered, mostly to himself. The nectar may be useful to feed bitter herbs to stubborn kits, but overall, this plant didn't seem to have any other medicinal purposes. Twitching his nose in amusement, he briefly wondered what kind of name this flower should have.

"It's called a dicentra, nature's bleeding heart."

The healer gasped in shock as orange paws ghosted over his abdomen. The air was suddenly filled with the bitter scent of blood as the Buizel from the other day gently pinned him to the ground, his teasing breath tickling his ear as their pelts pressed closely together.

"So, did you miss me?" He laughed, resting his head affectionately on top of Grey's. The said healer growled a warning, but it was promptly ignored as the water type began nibbling at his ears.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Grey snapped angrily. He attempted to toss the large male off of him, but he had too firm of a grip on him. His struggling seemed to give the intruder more amusement.

"As feisty as always, aren't you?" He sniggered slightly as he nuzzled the back of the Umbreon's neck. "Come to think of it, we didn't get properly introduced, did we? Do you have any idea what my name is?"

Grey hissed out in pain. The Buizel's fangs lashed out and made a small scratch on his neck, just enough to draw blood. His captor purred before hungrily lapping it up.

"Delicious," He licked his lips excitedly. Grey's sightless eyes narrowed.

"You're named after a flower?" The healer grunted.

"Yup! Name's Dicentra, but you can just call me Dice. It kinda fits, doesn't it?" The large male laughed. His eyes twinkled mischievously before his two tails twined around his victim' hind legs, getting dangerously close to a certain area. "So, what's yours?"

"Grey," He answered reluctantly, squirming uncomfortably in the other's grip. "Now what the hell do you want?"

"Well, I was sent here to deal with that Glaceon friend of yours," Dicentra began. "But it looks like he left or something."

"You're after Frost?" Grey's eyes widened in shock. He thrashed out, angrier than ever, but the other male had him firmly in his hold. His captor's eyebrows rose slightly at his reaction.

"Huh? Why are you in such a panic?" Dicentra's eyes drooped in disappointment. "You like him don't you?"

"W-what?" Grey almost screamed. "O-of course not! Why the heck would I like Frost? W-we're just friends, that's all!"

_Sounds like you have a crush to me, _Dice mused, although very frustrated that his target already had someone in mind. A thought suddenly popped up in his head. "What did you say that Glaceon's name was again?"

"Frost."

"Not Cloud?"

Grey's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "No, why?"

"Hehe," The Ishi member laughed. "So he isn't here in the Carina after all. Hm…" The Buizel leaned down atop of Grey until their cheeks were rubbing against each other. "If I get this news to my Alpha, then he'd surely launch an attack on your clan immediately."

The Umbreon's eyes widened in shock. "What?"

"Of course," Dice purred. "You might be able to convince me otherwise."

There was no need to tell Grey what this "convincing" was. The Ishi member had shown plainly what he wanted, if how his tails tickling out under him was any indication. He definitely didn't want to follow that damn Buizel's wants, but what else could he do? Were his personal needs worth the lives of countless members of his clan? His thoughts wander entertainingly over the thought his brother's death for a moment, but the situation brought him back to reality.

"I'll do anything you want if you don't report to your Alpha." Grey hated that pathetic tone he was using. He felt as if he had suddenly turned into a worthless pile of dirty, his dignity dissolving into thin air.

If possible, Dicentra's grin widened.

"Anything?"

"…Anything."

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><p><strong>It's a haaaaaanger! And he's hanging from a cliff! That's why we call him, the cliffhaaaaanger!<strong>

**BCY: Yeah, you can tell I'm really bored. I'm too tired to do something funny in the author notes, so just review and all that good jazz…T^T**


	5. Delf

**BCY: Well guys, I hope you're all ready, cuz this chapter is gunna be filled with lemons lemons lemons!**

**Everyone: *shudders in a corner fearfully***

**BCY: Oh, and some announcements. I made a few character profiles on my Fanfiction author profile. Go and see it if you'd like. It has some basic info about the characters we all know and love, along with some unreleased information. And I also opened up a poll for which character pairing you guys like best. GO VOTE! NOW!**

**Kara: Oh shush, no one cares.**

**BCY: *Writes in Death note* Kara… 2 PM in the afternoon… gets run over by a truck…**

**Kara: Uh… help?**

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><p>The Dewott cursed loudly to himself as he dragged Pine's battered body out of the lake. Seriously, the members of other clans were so stupid these days. Sure, he's not a water type, but anyone with common sense would know that walking out into a lake until you're almost neck deep without any swimming skills is not a good idea.<p>

Placing Pine gently down on the sand, the blue otter hesitantly pressed his head against the Linoone's chest. No breath. He frowned and placed both hands on Pine's chest, pressing up and down above his lungs firmly for a few beats, waiting anxiously for a reaction. No response. Dammit, why do people just have to make things so difficult?

Cursing himself heavily for what he was about to do, the Dewott took a deep breath before pressing his lips against the unconscious Pine's, forcing the air down his throat. He made sure to press his paws over the Linoone's nose so that the air would actually reach the lungs. After several attempts, Pine's eyes shot open, coughing wildly with water flying out his throat. He was quickly reduced to ragged pants before he could actually breathe.

"Moron," The Dewott muttered, a slight blush forming under his fur. "Serves you right for being such an idiot."

"D-did you save me?" Pine asked between heavy wheezing, completely oblivious to the earlier events. The water type rolled his eyes, clearly irritated.

"No, the tooth fairy did," His voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Now if you'd excuse me, I'll take my leave-"

The Dewott had a split second to comprehend the situation before he found himself pinned down to the ground with Pine gripping him tightly with a suffocating hug.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Pine squeaked in the rapid pace that only Pine himself could find possible, especially after almost drowning. The Dewott grimaced at the embrace and squirmed slightly to get free, but found Pine's grip unmovable.

"Get off," He growled with annoyance. Pine did so reluctantly, but not before attacking his savior with a quick nuzzle to the neck. A slight blush crept across the blue otter's face and he felt hot under his fur, but he quickly shook it off.

"So, what's your name?" Pine questioned curiously as he dusted himself off the sandy beach.

"Delf," He muttered simply.

"Really? That's pretty weird," The normal type laughed cheerfully. "I'm Pine! From the Carina. Do you have a clan or something like that?"

"I'm from the Mizu, happy?" Delf sighed dejectedly. "Now that I saved you, can you please let me go?"

Pine thought for a moment before a mischievous grin spread across his face. Delf suddenly found Pine launching himself at him and knocking the two of them back into the water, soaking their fur once more. He shot a glare at the childish Pokemon while desperately fighting the urge to shove him into the deepest abyss.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Delf snarled angrily. Pine laughed as they roughly tumbled through the water.

"Hey, can you teach me how to swim?" The normal type piped up suddenly.

He stared at the Carina member with a look of complete utter disbelief. "What? You almost drowned yourself five minutes ago and now you're trying to learn how to swim?"

"Well if I fall in the water again, at least I'll be able to get myself out. Anyway, it looks fun!" Pine laughed with his usual jovial attitude. Seriously, did he hit his head too hard or something? You'd expect him to be at least a little wary after almost being killed.

Delf crossed his arms sternly and shook his head. "Heck no. I don't have time to deal with a little snot like you. My clan's-"

"Aw, pleeeeeaaase?" Pine whined, his lower lip curling out into another one of his ridiculously cute pouts, his eyes nearly sparkling with a kit-like innocence. A bead of sweat dripping awkwardly down the Dewott's temple as he fought with all his might to resist Pine's 'puppy-dog eyes of doom.'

"Ugh, fine. Just promise not to be a pain, alright?" Delf cursed at himself under his breath, already regretting his decision as Pine let out a squeal of delight. Moments later, he found himself holding the hyperactive Carina by the waist as they paddled through the water. Pine seemed to be enjoying himself, but his new 'teacher' seemed rather pissed.

"Moron! You're supposed to be pushing the water with your feet! And quit splashing around like a crazy person!" Delf shouted.

"Hey! Don't yell at me…" Pine pouted with his 'hurt' face. "It's harder than it looks you know!"

"Grr, just hurry up and paddle!" The Dewott retorted. _Dammit, why does he have to look so cute?_ He thought angrily as he pushed the normal type along. His eyes trailed down Pine's fluffy pelt to his 'intimate areas.' Delf's eyes suddenly widened as he shook himself off. _No no no! What the hell am I doing? I just met this guy a couple minutes ago and now I'm checking him out? What's wrong with me?_

"Hey, Delf! Look at me!" The muddled water type looked up to see Pine beaming as he treaded gently through the deeper water on his own. "I did it! Aren't I just awesome?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Delf sighed and began swimming away. "Now that we're done, I've got to get going." Before Pine could utter a word of protest, the Dewott had already disappeared under the water's surface, going deeper down until he was out of sight.

Though he was underwater, Delf somehow managed to let out a sigh of relief. Sure that Carina member seemed friendly enough, but he was just so damn annoying! If it wasn't for how cute he looked, Delf would have dropkicked him a long time ago.

As he approached the lake's sandy floor, a slight frown of worry spread across his face. Should he have just left Pine up there like that? He just learned how to swim after all, not to mention how he was practically a magnet for attracting trouble. Glancing up at the surface, Delf spied the Linoone's shadow wandering off toward one of the little islands in the lake.

_Nah, why should I care? That guy can take care of himself, _Delf thought to himself before halting to a stop as he reached his destination. There on the lake floor was an enormous underwater dome made of air. It was made to stay attached to the sandy bottom, creating a large void in the lake where no water could penetrate which allowed the members of the Mizu clan to settle down to form their current camp. Inside the dome was many dens made of aquatic grasses and dried mud. Delf could see the other members frolicking around leisurely as he approached.

"Hey there Delf!" A middle-aged Vaporeon greeted as the said Dewott entered the dome with a pop. "How have you been? Did you finish your assignment?"

"Yeah. It was a bit boring though." Delf muttered as he shook water from his pelt. "I already dropped off today's haul of fish to our Alpha almost half an hour ago, so I'm pretty sure that I'm done for the day. How are you coming along, Mist?"

The Vaporeon laughed and patted her belly gently. Judging from her bloated figure, it was obvious that she was bearing a child. "Thanks, I'm doing fine. This little fella here is almost ready to come out now. I can feel him kicking every now and then." She smiled warmly and looked up at the younger water type. "By the way Delf, you should really start thinking of getting a mate sometime soon. You're reaching that age, you know?"

The Dewott's face immediately turned scarlet. "W-what the heck are you talking about? I'm only just turned seventeen a week ago! I'm way too young to be doing _that._"

Mist giggled as she slowly walked toward one of the dens, careful to not bump her belly on anything. "Oh really now? Your actions prove otherwise."

"W-w-wah?" Delf squeaked in surprise. "What do y-you mean?"

The carrying mother looked at the younger apprentice with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Delf, you little pervert. I knew what you were doing yesterday all alone in that cove." She cooed with amusement.

If possible, the blush on his face grew even redder. "I, erm, don't know what you're talking about." Delf replied, trying his best to look as innocent as possible. Maybe he should of asked Pine to teach him how to make those faces.

"Oh really? Then I wonder what that moaning noise was all about," Mist's giggles turned into full on laughter at the sight of the younger water type's red, horrified face. "But I'm surprise. You were quite 'big' if I might add."

"MIST!" Delf gasped, deeply embarrassed. "You're like, twenty or something! This is just plain creepy!"

"Ah, don't worry about it," The Vaporeon sniggered. "I already have a mate if you couldn't tell already. Anyway, it's not that I have a problem with you _masturbating_." The word rolled off her tongue like a knife into Delf's dignity. "I just wanted to remind you that it's Tentacruel mating season. You were lucky that those little suckers didn't get attracted to your scent."

"Oh, come on, I can handle one of them easily," Delf huffed crossly.

"Really? How about a whole crowd of them? At this time of the year, they pretty much try and screw anything they see in sight. It's a miracle how you didn't wind up getting yourself raped." Mist said, rolling her eyes.

"Erh, it can't be _that_ bad, can it?"

"Unless if you like getting tentacles shoved up your ass it isn't. Tentacruel are one of the horniest Pokemon out there. Why else do you think there are so damn many of them out there?" The soon-to-be mother grinned one last time before ducking into one of the dens, leaving the Dewott to his own thoughts.

A shiver slid down Delf's spine as images ran through his head. Well, it couldn't be _that_ bad, could it? Hm, tentacles…He might actually enjoy the feeling of those long, smooth appendages gliding in and out of his- _Wait. WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING?_

Delf just barely noticed how hard he had gotten before Aqua Jetting across the camp and throwing himself into his private den. Not without running into a few people of course, but that's not important.

The Dewott let out a sigh of relief as he plopped down on his bed of sea grass, praying hopefully that no one had seen him with a hard on, standing outside in public no less. Geez, he really needed to learn how to control himself more, lest he be in a world of embarrassment.

Leaning against the wall of his den, Delf fumbled with the deep blue coverings around his legs until he managed to free his member from confinement. He moaned slightly as the cool air of the dome whistled around his sensitive organ, causing it to grow even harder. Almost drooling over himself, he gingerly wrapped his paws around the beckoning length.

Sharp jolts of pleasure shot through his body as his paw ran up and down, caressing it smoothly. He really needed this. Delf purred under his breath as the first few dollops of pre began seeping out.

A kinky grin slipped across his face as he stared at his own member hungrily. Maybe it was out of instinct or his own overwhelming lust, but he immediately bent downward and gave his maleness and deep, savoring lick. Moaning in spite of himself, he continued with his ministrations, his skilled tongue lapping up all he has to offer. Delfs own groans of ecstasy sent vibrations throughout his organ, turning himself on even more.

His musky scent almost made his eyes go blurry as he licked away at his hard on. Delf smiled through his mouthful of length. He would just love to suck on Pine's cock right now. He would reduce that cute, innocent Linoone into a fit of pleasure, moaning his name as loudly as he could go.

He felt a stirring deep in his loins as a familiar sensation washed over him, but his mind was too much in a muddle as he continued working. Delf soaked up his fingers with the streams of saliva and pre that was seeping through the edge of his mouth and lubricated his fingers thoroughly. Without hesitating for a single moment, he shoved two of them into his clenching tailpipe, massaging the sensitive ring of muscles with a delighted mur.

Swallowing the salty liquid in his mouth hungrily, his smirked to himself before engulfing his member in his mouth, taking it all the way until the tip was prodding the back of his throat. A deep whimper fluttered through his lips as he enjoyed the sensation of his length surrounded by his hot cave. Deciding to take it a step further, he shoved his finger deep into his ass, gasping out in pure ecstasy as his forcefully jabbed his prostate.

"Ah…Oh Arceus…." Delf mewled out rather loudly as he massaged his walls, sending jolts of pleasure shot through his body.

Delf couldn't help but instinctively thrust upward into his mouth as the trembling in his nether regions grew so fierce that he thought he would cum right then and there. Oh, what he wouldn't do to have his dick up Pine's cute little tailhole right now, making the adorable Carina scream out with all he had as he would hammer his hole until it was a gaping-

"Oh, almost…AHHH~!" Delf cried out as though he was in heaven. The feeling of pure bliss rippled through his groin as streams upon streams of white seed flowed into his waiting maw. He relished the taste of his cum for as long as he could, but before long, he was full and was forced to let go of his member, his seed splattering all over his fur.

Delf panted heavily for the next few minutes, recovering from the intense feelings inside his gut. What a mess he would have looked like if anybody walked in on him right now. It took him several moments later to realized that he had just jacked off thinking about fucking Pine.

"Ugh, Arceus. What the hell is wrong with me?" The spent Dewott moaned with frustration, covering his face with his paws. Did he really fall for a guy from another clan that he just met? It was undeniably a yes, but that didn't make him feel any better. Delf sighed and propped his head up against the cold, mud walls of his den. "Do I really like him that much?"

Meanwhile, standing just outside his abode, was Mist. She couldn't help but giggle perversely to herself as she listened in on the younger Mizu's activities.

_That kid needs to get laid, _Mist thought with a laugh.

**(…)**

The sun was beating down on Pine's back as he leisurely waded through the lake's surface. Swimming turned out to be much more fun than he thought. The water felt so great when it brushes through his pelt. He felt like a whole new person when he's here.

A relaxed sighed escaped the Linoone's throat as he neared a cove on a small island. The water here was much warmer than the water in the open lake, probably because of how the land enclosed it and prevented the liquid from losing too much heat. Pine giggled and flipped over on his back, letting the waves lap away at his tired muscles.

Had he paid more attention, he would have realized that a rather suspicious mass of seaweed was making its way towards him. Of course, Pine had an attention span of a goldfish, which didn't really help him at all. As the tangled group of vegetation drew closer, the Carina finally noticed it but it was much too late.

The seaweed lashed out at him, ensnaring all four of his limps in a tight, menacing grip. He tried to let out a scream, but another piece threaded around his muzzled and kept firmly shut. It was then that he realized that the 'seaweed' were actually thick, slimy tentacles.

Pine's whole being shook in fear as the head of an enormous Tentacruel rose out of the water, glaring at him with predatory eyes. Seeing the large, jagged teeth of the mouth of the creature hidden inside the entanglement of tentacles, he shuttered at the idea of himself becoming its next meal.

"Mrrrph!" As strangled squeak of surprise came from the Linoone when he suddenly felt a feeler poking at his sheath, stroking it softly. It felt so good…but so wrong at the same time. Reluctant groans rumbled through his throat as the first few inches of his member slid out into the open.

The Tentacruel, growing impatient, unraveled the appendage around his victim's maw and shoved it in. Pine immediately choked on it. He tried to spit it out, but the water type roughly forced it back in. The Carina felt something ooze out of the tentacle as it was pushed down his muzzle. The liquid felt cool against his flesh, but at the same time it burned heavily in his throat.

Then he made the mistake of swallowing it. His body reacted immediately by practically burning itself up. Heat coursed through every vein like fire, making Pine gasp out for air, which the squid Pokemon mercifully allowed him. Though his muscles all suddenly became relaxed, he couldn't help but shudder against the Tentacruel's grip. His mind was blurry with…lust? Was that poison some sort of aphrodisiac?

Either way, there was no possible chance he could control how all the heat in his body surged toward his groin, successfully coaxing his member out of its sheath. The tip began pooling with pre, which the tentacles greedily spread along the entire organ.

"Ah!" A cry suddenly escaped Pine's lips when his felt something poking under his tail. A rather large tentacle curled up against his tailpipe, excreting some sort of sticky liquid. Oh Arceus, was it-?

"NO!" Pine screamed and thrashed against his restraints with all his might, scratching at everything his claws could reach. His efforts only served to annoy the Tentacruel even more. Its grip tightened to the point where he was almost suffocating, forcing him to give up.

Pine trembled violently as the first inch of the appendage entered his hole. Was this how he was to lose his virginity? He always imagined to give it to someone he loved, not to some sex-crazed creature! A scream tore through his throat as the tentacle entered another inch, sending shockwaves of pain into his body.

"What the hell is going on here?" A torrent of water suddenly burst out of nowhere, brutally slicing off each and every one of the water type's tentacles. Delf leaped out of the water and swiftly sliced the offending creature in two, spilling its blood into the lake and dying the cove scarlet.

"D-Delf!" Pine half sobbed half cheered in absolute relief. The said Dewott turned to him with an exasperated look, unfazed by the gore.

"Geez, you're such a moron. I leave you alone for one minute and this happens-?"

Before he could finish his train of thought, Pine launched himself at his second-time savoir and embraced him in a deep hug, crying softly into his chest. Delf tensed up slightly. This wasn't one of his usual friendly hugs, but a truly grateful one. A heavy blush crawled across his face in embarrassment.

"T-thank you…" Pine wept quietly, pressing his face against the Dewott's warm chest. Delf patted his head awkwardly, not sure what to say. He suddenly jumped with a start.

"Um, P-Pine? W-what's poking me?" Delf stuttered, his blush growing ever deeper. Pine looked up at him from his chest innocently. Before he could realize what was going on, he found their lips touching, the Linoone's tongue begging for entrance. Submitting to his body's needs despite himself, he opened and met Pine in a deep, passionate kiss.

Their tongues danced a ballet of their own as they swapped saliva, moaning into their kiss. Delf felt like he could of stayed like this forever, but his lungs' aching for oxygen told him otherwise. They broke off hesitantly, panting heavily from the lack of air.

The Dewott rubbed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, savoring Pine's taste. His mouth had a pleasant flavor of strawberries, which made him all the more cuter, but there was something else. His eyes widened in shock as Pine gently pushed him to the ground, shuddering uncontrollably.

"Ah… Delf…I…oh…need… you…" Pine's heated voice stuttered as he involuntarily started humping on top of him.

"Aaaah!" Delf squeaked unnaturally as their members rubbed together, sending delicious sensations through both their bodies. His hips automatically began to thrust back, but he managed enough self control to stop for a minute. "W-wait! Pine, you're…ah…on an aphrodisiac…we shouldn't…AAAHH!"

Pine sat up and somehow managed to slide Delf's length into his already slick hole, allowing it to slide in easily. All thoughts on stopping were completely wiped away from the Dewott's mind. He thrusted instinctually into the smaller male, enticing sweet cries of lust from his cute little maw.

Delf grinned and reached down toward the Linoone's phallus between them, stroking it tenderly while he forced his member in and out of his tight little tailhole. Cute mewls of pleasure poured out of Pine's muzzle, encouraging Delf to go even faster as the normal type's length drooled a warm puddle of pre on his abdomen.

"Ahh….Delf… oh…faster…please! Fuck me harder!" Pine groaned. He buried his head into the Dewott's shoulder, his breathing becoming way to harsh to speak.

If Delf thought that Pine was hot before, he was proven wrong. This was way hotter. "As…ah…you…wish…oh…ah…my sweet…" He grinned and adjusted the angle of his thrusts, pounding away at the younger male's insides.

"AAAAHHHH!" Pine screamed as the delectable length inside of him rammed into his prostate, making stars fly in his vision. Enough pre was pouring out of his member to almost drown someone. The feeling of his sweet spot being jabbed was almost sending him unconscious with pure ecstasy. "Yes…ah…right there…ah…oh…Delf…I'm almost...yes yes yes!"

"My…ah…what…ah…dirty mouth you have there…" Delf smirked. He wasn't going to last any longer either. Leaning forward, he sank his teeth into the side of Pine's shoulder, drawing a little blood before ramming his member into the Linoone to the hilt, burying himself deep into the hot, warm cave, emptying himself into him.

"Ah…ah…DELF!" Pine shrieked at the top of his lungs, his ring of muscles tightening around Delf's rod, refusing to let a single drop escape. The warm liquid coursing through his insides brought him over the edge as well. Streams upon streams of white seed shot from his member, soaking the fur on both their chests and stomach.

The two of them laid there for a while, panting in exhaustion and enjoying the aftermath of their long love session. Delf licked the small bite mark he made on Pine's shoulder, smiling softly to himself. _He is mine…and no one will take him from me… Heh, I guess that pervert Mist was right after all…_

**(…)**

"AACHOOO!" Mist's sneeze echoed through the den like a lash of thunder. Her mate was immediately by her side, placing a paw over her shoulder comfortingly.

"Dear, did you catch a cold?" He asked worriedly. The Vaporeon shook her head dismissively.

"Nah, it's probably my stupid ex-apprentice bad mouthing me again or something," She laughed and looked up toward the surface of the lake through the underwater dome, her face plastered with a knowing smile.

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><p><strong>BCY: Bwahahahaha! Love is in the air!<strong>

**Pine: I think BCY has a tentacle fetish…**

**BCY: Oh shush. I just wanted to make things…more interesting hehe…**

**Frost: Hey! I'm supposed to be the main character! Why am I not in this chapter?**

**BCY: Don't worry, your chapter will be up next time… Anywho, please press that little button on the bottom of this page here and review!**


	6. Cloud

**BCY: Hey guys! The new chapter is here! Um, this was sorta rushed cuz I haven't been at my best lately, but I'd like to thank Calpyso for beta reading this chapter for me! I really appreciate it! :3**

**Kara: You're just being lazy, admit it.**

**BCY: Darn, Kara didn't get run over by a truck yet. Grr… Anyway, without further ado, on with the story!**

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><p>The high mountain air tickled Frost's nose refreshingly as he trotted his way up the south slope. The slightly chilly temperature suited his taste and gave him an added bit of pleasure seeing Ren tremble uncomfortably from it.<p>

"Hey, you sure that your human lives around here? I don't think they're the kind to freeze themselves up here…" A huff of vapor left the Luxio's muzzle as he spoke. It was true to say the least. Didn't humans live in those huge collections of dens? Cities, he recalled the world strangely.

"Yeah, but my human comes up here certain times of the year to train. He stays at what a human would call a cottage." Frost's small form wiggled slightly as he hopped from stone to stone up the slope. "My brother and I always sneak away during the night to have some time by ourselves. We never really liked fighting for sport."

"…" Ren watched the younger male bound up the mountain playfully. It was all too strange to him. How could these human pets survive without a clan? Must have been hard, but the way Frost seemed trot through this place contradicted his thoughts entirely.

"Huh, something wrong?" The ice fox stopped suddenly, looking back at his partner. "You've been dozing off for a while now."

"Wah? Oh, it's nothing. I'm just thinking…" Ren muttered indignantly.

"Ooooh. Must be hard for someone who doesn't have a brain," Frost giggled. The Luxio sighed.

"You're such a kit sometimes. How did you even survive on the way here?"

"Well, my brother led me halfway to the camp before getting attacked," The ice fox's voice faded slightly. "My brother's really strong you know. He just gets sick a lot. We would have left our trainer a long time ago if my brother didn't always fall ill."

"He doesn't sound all that strong," Ren mused. Frost glared at the larger male, anger suddenly boiling away at his eyes.

"If you ever say that to him in person, you'd be turned into a living ice cube in less than a minute," He growled threateningly. "Cloud has been able to fight off a full grown Tyranitar before without even getting hurt, so don't you dare go around insulting him."

Ren chuckled softly as they neared the summit. "Geez, I was just joking, chill. But it just sounds kinda farfetched when you talk about him as if he's one of the great prodigies. What is he, Arceus?"

He frowned. "Prodigies? What prodigies?"

"You mean you've never heard of the two great prodigies of the forest?" The Luxio gaped in disbelief. "What, have you been living under a rock or something?"

Frost turned away, slightly hurt by the comment. "It's not my fault I've been trapped in a human home all my life…" He murmured softly. A pang of guilt struck through Ren's heart. Uncertainly, he tried to give the smaller male a friendly nuzzle, but was immediately rejected.

Sighing slightly, he mumbled, "Sorry, I was just surprised. Practically everyone's heard of them before." He shivered slightly as a cold wind brushed through his pelt. Frost glanced up at him, still annoyed, but nonetheless forgiving. Just barely.

"Well, we're almost there to the human place so we should probably take a quick rest. Who knows what that guy would do if he sees us," The ice fox led him to a cluster of several large pine trees, At the base of one, there was a hollowed out den in the roots, which the two of them quickly entered.

"N-neat place…" Ren shivered; glad to be out of the cold. He glanced around the den. There was a rather large bed of pine needles piled together in the middle of the room, while little pine cones decorated the walls.

Frost smiled softly as he laid down on the nest next to Ren. "Yeah. My brother made this place to hide from our human when he goes on a rampage sometimes. We always…Hey, are you really that cold?"

"W-what? N-no, I'm fine…" Ren stuttered as he snuggled up into a ball.

"You're cold." Frost decided. "Here, I'll help."

"Wait, w-what?" He jumped slightly as the ice fox curled around his side, pressing their pelts together. He even curled his tail around his waist, looking pleased with himself.

"There, better?" Frost giggled, completely unaware of the other's embarrassment.

"Y-yeah. Thanks," Ren gulped. The heat he felt was instantaneous, but it probably wasn't because of his fur.

"Anyway, what was this prodigy story you were talking about? I don't want to get left out!"

Ren's tensed muscles slowly relaxed themselves against Frost's warmth, getting slightly more comfortable. "Erh, right. This is actually a real story that took place during the Carina-Ishi war four years ago. I was just a kit in training back then, but I still heard a lot about it even back then."

"What was the war about?"

"Oh, the Ishi were just being jerks and tried to kill us. And they were winning too before the two prodigies showed up. The war lasted about two years and left the Carina in ruins. We only had a few members left that were able to fight. I would have joined the battle myself, but Dusk wouldn't let me since I was still considered a kit." Ren mumbled indignantly.

"You still kinda are you know," Frost laughed, provoking an annoyed growl from the older apprentice.

"Anyway," The Luxio paused, letting out a chilled cough. "The Ishi were winning, but then, a day before they planned the final battle to wipe us out, a stranger showed up to see Dusk. I forgot what he looked like since he was only there for a moment, but he wanted to join our clan. Of course, everyone thought he was a spy or something and refused. So the stranger promised to prove that he wasn't a spy."

The ice fox leaned closer, listening intently. A flush of scarlet washed over Ren's cheeks as he noticed their closeness.

"Then what happened?"

"W-well," The Luxio inhaled sharply. "When the Ishi attacked us, we were all prepared for the worst. But then the stranger showed up again and wiped out the enemies single-handedly without even breaking a sweat. We were all shocked of course, but he didn't stop there. Before the Ishi could even recover from that battle, he chased their Alpha deep into a cave and sealed him inside the mountain for eternity. After that, he was hailed a hero."

"Hm…" Frost hummed, deep in thought. "Didn't you say there were two prodigies?"

"Oh yeah," Ren blinked. "When the war was over, a lot of injured Carina members were scattered all around the forest. Most of them were wounded and lost and almost all of them were sick. The stranger left to find them, but one of our warriors followed him. Amazingly, Carina warriors started to come back to the camp unharmed, looking completely healthy. It turned out that the member that followed the stranger discovered the art of healing and became the forest's first healer. He treated and cured almost all of the injured in a single day. These two became known as the two Prodigies, one who could wipe out a hundred enemies in a single sweep, and one that could save a hundred in a single breath."

He looked down as he finished his story to find Frost snuggling up against him warmly, sound asleep. Ren was at first ticked off, but his mood softened after taking one look at the ice fox's peaceful expression.

The human pet didn't turn out as bad as he expected. Maybe he was just being a big jerk. Musing over his thoughts quietly, he looked over the events that happened in the last few days. To be completely honest, he was starting to like this little fox. He made somewhat of good company after all, even if he's annoying.

Ren's nose suddenly twitched as a sulfuric scent filled his nostrils. What is this? He immediately bolted out of the nest, roughly waking Frost up in the process.

"W-what's going on?" The ice fox yelped suddenly. The Luxio didn't even have time to answer before blasting a Thunderbolt out of the hollow, detonating something off in the distance. A Muk and a Weezing slowly made their way out of the smoke and debris, glaring at them with death in their eyes. Behind them came an Arbok and a Drapion

"We're being attacked."

**(…)**

Fern ducked back behind the bush he was hiding in, eyeing both Ren and Frost in the distance. He had been following the two apprentices ever since they left Carina territory. It wasn't because he was overly worried about them like Noru was, but he had his own agenda to take care of and they happened to be part of it.

The Leafeon's ears twitched as he quietly watched the incoming pokemon approach the two Carinas. It seemed as though a fight was inevitable, but this should provide him enough distraction to sneak in.

The moment the first attack sounded, Fern shot out of the bush and raced toward the wooden human house not too far off in the distance. He would have helped the two battling pokemon, but he was in much too big of a hurry.

Upon nearing the building, a choked shiver suddenly slid down Fern's back. What was that smell? Sure, this human may be keeping around a few poison types, but it can't possibly smog up the place this bad, could it? Deciding to investigate, he followed the sulfuric scent until he found himself in front of a rather small shed.

The smell was definitely strongest here. Fern could practically see the purple poisonous clouds of gas seeping out the edges of the door. Why would this human trap so much toxic air in one single little room? It didn't make too much sense to him, until he suddenly heard a faint coughing sound emitting from inside the shed. Someone was in there!

Without a second thought, Fern slammed the door open and sliced it to a million bits with a Leaf Blade. Immediately, jets of poisonous gas poured out of the building like a volcano. How could _anyone _stay in there for so long and still be alive? Fern's eyes widened in complete disbelief when he caught sight of a motionless blue paw in a corner.

"Cloud!" The Leafeon gasped, then choked as he inhaled a breath of gas. The effect was immediate. His sight was suddenly blurry and cold sweat poured down the side of his face.

Struggling against the pain the shot through his muscles, Fern limbed toward the unconscious Glaceon, tears leaking out the edge of his eyes. Why? They haven't even heard each other's voices for four years and now they meet again in this sort of mess?

"Oh Arceus. Cloud, please! Answer me!" Fern pleaded, placing his head against the Glaceon's. Despite the pain in his throat, he took a deep breath, the leaf on his forehead glowing softly. _Aromatherapy._

The effect was immediate. Light spread across the room, purifying every bit of poison gas as it went. Fern relished the feeling of fresh air cooling his throat as his breathing began to calm, the poisoning cured. Cloud seemed to be recovering as well, the sweat covering his fur disappearing. Slowly, the unconscious ice fox's eyes slid open.

"F-Fern?" His voice sounded like sandpaper, as if he hadn't used it for years.

An indescribable wave of relief washed over the grass type and he gave his mate a quick lick on the cheek.

"Yeah, it's me," Fern whispered back, nuzzling him warmly.

Cloud coughed, looking up at him with a weak grin on his face. "Heh…after four years you…still look so much like a girl."

Fern immediately smacked him on the head out of habit. "Well _sorry,_ but this _girl _just happened to save your life a couple seconds ago! Is this how you show your appreciation?"

A resounding 'ow!' echoed through the shed. Cloud rubbed his forehead gingerly as he struggled to sit up.

"You still hit as hard as ever too…" He said coarsely. Fern was about to retort when he caught another whiff of coppery scent. The healer stuck his head cautiously out the door before taking another deep breath.

"Looks like there's another thin cloud of poison gas covering the entire mountainside," Fern mused as he looked over the situation. This human was smart. Even though Cloud easily outmatched all of his Pokemon put together, he used his illness and sensitivity to heavy-metal poisons to his advantage.

An explosion off in the distance shook the healer from his thoughts. Cloud's eyes widened in surprise.

"What happened? Is that Frost?" He demanded, shakily leaping to his feet despite his pain.

Fern nodded slowly. "Yeah but… we can't exactly help them with you in this condition. You can barely stand up by yourself." He frowned suddenly and looked up at the sky. "Now if only we could get rid of this gas…"

**(…)**

Frost hissed as another Sludge bomb shot narrowly pass his face. The smell in the air was almost unbearable, not to mention being completely outnumbered. How was he supposed to save his brother under these conditions?

Ren wasn't faring any better. In fact, the Luxio suffered almost twice as many wounds as he did. A rather large cut on his shoulder was bleeding profusely as he launched bolt after bolt of electricity against the foe, only to be struck down again.

Frost sighed, shooting another ice beam at the Arbok that was sneaking up behind him. The purple snake snarled in pain, the back half of his tail freezing solid before shattering to a billion pieces, only to grow another to replace the one lost. This was definitely not going to be easy.

A familiar shout reached both the battling Carina's ears, making them whirl around in surprise. Fern was running up to them, looking as if he just ran a marathon.

"Fern?" Frost blurted out in surprise. The healer finally came within earshot, shouting frantically.

"Make it rain! Hail! ANYTHING!" Fern bellowed.

Frost was taken aback by his rushed command, but Ren nodded back weakly.

"Does a thunderstorm sound good to you?" The Luxio huffed weakly.

"Yeah," The Glaceon agreed, but glanced worriedly at the electric type's bleeding wound though his concern went unnoticed as he began charging static. Frost sighed before focusing on the clouds at the sky. Within seconds, thunder began to rumble through the mountain as rain and hail pour down upon them.

Frost could practically feel the air clear out as the rain washed away the thin cloud of poison surrounding this place. His nose relished the feeling of fresh mountain breeze. Ren seemed to be slightly better, but his injuries made him unable to even stand. Fern rushed over to treat the apprentice's wounds, ignoring the fact that they were still surrounded by enemy Pokemon.

"Fern, why are you here?" Frost asked as he sent a quick Ice Breath at the Weezing. The said healer grinned triumphantly through Ren's wounds as he nodded his head toward the human's home.

"You'll see in a minute, but for now, stall some time for us and we'll-"

"There'll be no need for that."

Frost heart stopped at the sound of that voice. Could it possibly be…Cloud? He wasn't hallucinating, was he?

"Frost, I'm sure you're shocked and whatnot about me practically coming back from the dead, but at least say something," The older Glaceon grin mirrored Fern's as he trotted up to meet them.

The poison types immediately leapt at him, but with a quick flick of his tail, they all were incased in massive pillars of ice and fractured into pure white powder. Cloud yawned and stretched his back leisurely.

"Good riddance." He muttered, glancing at the swirling crystals catching in the wind. "Serves them right for trying to poison me. They were such an idiotic bunch anyw-"

"CLOUD!" Frost practically knocked over his older brother in a bear hug, sobbing hysterically into his shoulder. "Y-you're alive!"

"Yeah yeah, give me some room to breathe will you?" His brother chuckled with a smile while patting Frost's head, frowning slightly at his wounds. "Hey, you alright? You've been hit a few times."

"Oh, I'm not as bad as Ren over there though," Frost wiped his tears with his paw and glanced over at the other apprentice. At least Ren was still conscious this time, but his bleeding was pretty bad.

"Oh, pfff. He'll be fine. Who do you think is treating him anyway?" Fern raised his eyebrows with amusement. His leaves glowed softly, and before they knew it, Ren's wounds already closed up and looked several weeks old.

The Luxio stood up shakily. "So you're Frost's brother?"

"The one and only!" Frost leaped up proudly, stumbling somewhat as Fern began to nose at his wounds. "See? I told you he was strong!"

Ren only sighed. "You're such a kit…"

"And you're just a sore loser."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me!"

"You wanna say that again? I'll turn you into ground meat!"

"Oooh, I'm sooo scared!"

Cloud couldn't help but smile to himself as he watched his little brother bounce cheerfully out of an infuriated Ren's reach. The two apprentices did their usual thing, freezing the other's ears and making the other's fur all frizzy with static. Fern had to drag the two of them apart by the scruff before they began making their way home.

"Kids these days…" Fern sighed. "If these two weren't Noru's apprentices, I would have thrown them over the cliff."

"Noru? He's a mentor now?" Cloud asked curiously. The two younger Pokemon quickly grew uninterested in their adult talk and bounded ahead of them in their own little argumental race.

"Yeah, he and Kara are two of Dusk's elites too. You've been gone from the Carina way too long you know. I haven't seen you since the war we had with the Ishi."

"Well, I would have joined you guys a long time ago if Dusk hadn't told me to wait three years. That, and the fact that I'm always sick. Not fun."

"Heh, so even the great prodigy isn't perfect."

"I wouldn't be talking if I were you," Cloud retorted teasingly. "Anyway, how's Frost doing in the Carina?"

"Oh, he's been awesome! He's so cuddly and cute and smells nice. He's practically a mini version of you!" Fern laughed, drooling slightly.

"I swear, if I hear from Noru that you've molested him in any way, I'm gonna-"

"Oh calm down, will you? You're probably just jealous that I've been sleeping with him for the last two days instead of with y-"

"YOU WHAT?" Cloud almost screamed. Before Fern could even comprehend what was happening, the ice fox had dashed ahead of him and seized hold of a rather dumbstruck Frost, shaking him hysterically. "Frost! He didn't do anything to you did he? Did he make you do anything weird? Are you still a vir-"

"Um, sir, are you alright?" Ren asked a bit awkwardly. Cloud looked up at the Luxio as if he just noticed he was there. Ren yelped when the ice fox grabbed and shook him as well.

"You! You're Frost's denmate, right? Did Fern make any moves on him? I swear, if he even _looks_ at my little brother somewhere he isn't supposed to, I'll-"

"Oh, Cloud. You have no idea how much you sound like Noru right now," Fern laughed. The two apprentices could only watch as Cloud furiously chased the merry healer until they disappeared 'romantically' into the sunset.

And uncomfortable silence hung in the air. A few moments after the two older pokemon went out of earshot, Ren glanced at Frost strangely.

"Your brother has some issues."

"Erm, for once, I'm not going to argue."

**(…)**

By the time the stars began moving over the horizon, the four tired canines managed to make their way back to Carina camp without any more excessive fights among themselves. Although this did not include how Frost dragged Ren into the river for the second time that day.

Dusk was surprised that Cloud was almost poisoned to death, but relieved nonetheless. She showered the Glaceon with a number of apologies on how she neglected to send his rescue crew sooner, but he merely brushed them off.

Noru was overjoyed to see him and greeted him warmly. Kara simply exchanged nods with him. It didn't seem like they were on good terms yet.

By the time he finished being introduced to everyone in the camp, it was all Cloud could do before plopping himself onto Fern's nest like a exhausted heap of fur. The said grass type snuggled beside him in the den. Frost and Ren had excused themselves to the medicine den, Frost being rather excited to tell Grey about his day. So it was just the two of them, cozy and alone.

"Hey Cloud?" Fern mumbled softly. Cloud looked up at his mate tiredly.

"What is it?"

"I… erm, never mind." The healer fidgeted nervously. Cloud frowned.

"Is something the matter?"

"…yeah," Fern sighed and looked straight into his mate's eyes. "I guess you deserve to know. Today, I did some double checking on how your body is holding up against all that poison-"

"I thought you purified all of it already." The ice fox blurted in surprise. Fern looked away nervously.

"That's just the thing. I checked, and found that there is still a large number of toxins in your body that I can't remove…" The grass type buried his face into Cloud's chest. "You probably won't live long. Heck, you could die tomorrow…in a week…a month…a year." His voice began to choke up with tears. "Y-you just came back too. I-I don't w-want to lose you again. I-I mean, we've been apart for so l-long and n-now-"

He was suddenly silenced by Cloud lips pressing against his. The kiss was short and sweet, but meaningful nonetheless. When they broke apart for air, Cloud smiled softly.

"Fern…I know you're probably blaming yourself for this, but don't. Like you said, even prodigies aren't perfect." He gave the crying Leafeon another kiss to the cheek. "Even with me gone, you'll still have me in your heart, won't you? So don't worry. I'll cherish every moment I spend with you until I die."

_Until I die…_ Fern's tears ceased to fall, yet his heart still throbbed painfully. Even though these words were meant to reassure him, they sounded devastatingly like a farewell.

* * *

><p><strong>BCY: I know what you're all waiting for here. "Where's Grey and our uberly awesome rapist?" Well, they're coming up in the next chapter, so stay tuned!<strong>

**Grey: …I hate you.**

**Dicentra: I love you~ **

**BCY: Horray for mixed feelings! Now please review! :D**


	7. Grey

**BCY: AAHH! It's been so long since I've updated, I feel so guilty! Sorry guys. Unfortunately, it seems like I won't be updating any faster since exams are coming up. Eh, enough with the bad news. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Grey gazed up at the dimly lit night sky. The last couple hours of his life had been so mind-sweepingly rapid that he didn't know what to think of it. He should be angry, shouldn't he? Be upset that he was forced to do something against his will, have his innocence stripped from him, all because of that damn Buizel. And yet…<p>

He sighed painfully. His head was in such turmoil that it hurt to think. Grey curled up in a tight ball on a cliff not far from the camp, deep in thought. If only he could just forget about the whole thing…

"Grey! There you are," Grey's ears twitched at the voice. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Frost…" He whispered softly as the ice fox came up to him.

"Hey, guess what? Fern and I found my brother! He's really tired and resting right now but he's here! My brother's back!" Frost squealed gleefully unaware of the other's pain. Grey's eyes snapped open in shock.

"Cloud's actually here?"

"Yeah! Isn't that gr-"

"You mean I did all that for nothing?" He bellowed, outraged.

Frost was taken aback. "D-did I do s-something wrong?" He stuttered in confusion.

Grey's paws gripped the grass beneath him tightly. How could he have been such an idiot? All his efforts, his pains, his innocence has been absolutely wasted! He felt like someone had just stabbed a hole in his chest, sucking out all his insides.

"G-Grey, are you alright?" Frost whispered nervously. The said Umbreon suddenly lunged at him, roughly knocking the two of them flat on the grass. "Ah! What are you…"

The Glaceon's blinked. He was crying. Frost could do nothing but lye there with Grey sobbing painfully onto his shoulder. The Umbreon's slender form was shaking like a leaf against a blizzard, torn apart on the inside. His tears emptied from his sightless eyes and soaked Frost's pelt. The ice fox hesitantly slid a paw around the healer's back, pulling him into a comforting hug.

"Grey? Do you need me to go get someone or-"

"N-n-no…Just…stay with me. O-ok?" The blind canine's voice shook, more tears drenching his muzzle. Frost nodded softly and pulled him tighter into their hug, their fur pressed together gently. The two of them stayed there under the moon, embraced in each other's warmth through the Grey's heart retching pain.

**(…Flashback…)**

**(Grey's POV)**

I shuttered. What was I getting myself into? The damn Buizel seemed to read my every thought as he gave my cheek another slow lick, sending a chill down my spine.

"Anything?" He asked in a teasing tone, knowing full well what my reluctant answer was.

"…Anything." I whispered back. I could almost see his grin as he pressed his head against the back of my neck. Paws ghosted over my chest seductively while his hot breath tickled my pelt.

"Heh, that sounds…fun. Doesn't it?" He smirked, pinching the sensitive nub. I whimpered, a blush flooding my cheeks. I hate that laugh of his, I really do. "Ok then. For today, you'll have to do three things I tell you to. How's that?"

"Bullshit." I snapped. I felt urged to shove the larger male off my back, but the fear of angering him still lingered in the back of my mind. The Buizel seemed to sense this. I let out a yelp as I was suddenly flipped onto my back, face to face with the 'beast' of the Ishi.

"Oh? As feisty as ever, aren't you?" Dicentra laughed. "You're lucky that's what I like about you; otherwise you _just_ might have pissed me off." He flashed his white fangs coolly. "I'm sure you don't want that."

I shivered. Even though I couldn't actually see his threat, hearing it was more than enough. The Ishi's grin seemed to grow even wider from my flinching.

"Hey," He sat up suddenly with his hind legs straddling my hips from either side. His grin disappeared as he stared straight into my colorless eyes. I could feel his blood tinged breath washing over my muzzle. "What do you think of me right now?"

"W-what do you mean?" I tried to sound strong, but my voice failed me. He smiled softly and ran his paw through my fur, as if trying to soothe me.

"What's your opinion of me? As a person?" Dicentra's tails waved leisurely behind him as he awaited my answer.

Me? He was asking me for my opinion?

"Heh, you're just another one of those heartless murderers from the Ishi." I snarled, having no problem being honest. "What else is there about you?"

His paw stopped stroking my fur. I could tell he was hurt by my words. It almost made me feel guilty. _Almost._

"Well then," His toothy grin appeared again. "You just might be right about that. I'm just a heartless person, aren't I?" His tails suddenly slid between my legs and wrapped around my groin. I jumped in shock, but was held down. "Heh, and that's exactly why I like you so much."

"Fuck off," I growled, doing my best to inch away from the offending appendages. He smirked.

"It'll be my pleasure." Before I knew what was happening, his lips were pressed against my own. His tongue lapped at my lower lip, waiting for permission. For a second I wanted to bite his head off, but remembering the risk my clan was in, I gave up. Hesitantly opening my maw I allowed his slippery pink muscle to slip inside, rubbing against my own. Groaning slightly, I leaned up in spite of myself as we swapped saliva. As much as I hated to admit, I found it rather pleasant.

Dicentra was surprisingly gentle. His tongue explored my mouth in an unhurried fashion while his paw slid around the back of my head, slowly massaging my scalp. My mind was in too much of a muddle to reciprocate the kiss, but he didn't seem to mind. I felt almost disappointed when we broke apart, still attached by a string of saliva.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" He panted. I was out of breath as well, and somewhat aroused. I couldn't help but groan as his tails managed to caress the first few inches of my slowly hardening member from my sheath. He grinned. "You might actually enjoy this."

My fur was tinted pink from my blush. This was so wrong, yet he made it feel so good! I couldn't possibly like this, could I? Despite my efforts, my throat let out a murr as my full length slid out into the open. The cool forest air whistling around the organ made me whine desperately. Arceus, why did I sound so pathetic?

"Hm…so you do like this don't you?" Dicentra teased, panting slightly. I blushed and looked away, which apparently encouraged him to lean down and start nipping at my neck, coaxing more moans from me. His skilled tongue flicked at my right nipple, making me shiver with unwanted pleasure.

I yelped upon feeling his silky tails wrap around my aching member. I could have pushed him off of me if I tried. This was all so wrong and yet… I wanted it.

My hips thrusted up into his stroking like they had a mind of their own. Dicentra seemed to enjoy the power he had over me right now. His tails pumped me skillfully, one tickling the tip while the other rubbed up against the base. Pre started leaking profusely from the tip, soaking into the fur on his tails as he worked with my member.

I began purring in spite of myself, my pawns gripping the grass under me tightly. Bolts of ecstasy shot through my veins with every touch, making me almost drool in pleasure. I'd be lying to myself if I said I wanted to stop.

The weight on top of me suddenly shifted. I gasped in shock upon feeling an extremely hot and heavy warmth enveloping my shaft. Dicentra grinned and started humming into my meat, sending vibrations of pure pleasure rippling through me. I was literally drowning in my own ecstasy, thrashing around wildly with the Buizel suckling happily on my length like a newborn kit hungry for milk.

Something warm and wet dripping on my cheek, somewhat awakening my from my lusty daze. I could smell the heavy musk of Dicentra's sex hanging above my head, dripping with pre. I could tell the Ishi was too busy working at my length to notice, so I hesitantly leaned upward and took and experimental lick.

He instantly groaned in surprised, sending another shock of vibrations through my pleasure system. My breath skipped a beat for a moment. His length tasted sweet, like nectar, but somewhat salty at the same time. It was quite delectable in fact. I hastily slid the shaft into my hungry maw, receiving another dose of that heavenly taste.

A delectable pressure began building at my groin, making me fidget slightly. My toes curled and I held my breath as I did my best to suppress it. Dicentra seemed to sense this. Suddenly, I felt paws grabbing me by the hips. He slammed me into the back of his throat full force, my rod buried deep inside his hot, drooling muzzle.

"Ah!" I gasped aloud and bursted, emptying my seed into his awaiting mouth. My body was lashed out in undeniable pleasure as I shot out more and more of my essence into the Buizel's greedy maw.

Dicentra's tongue lapped at my tip repeatedly, savoring my taste. I heard his smack his lips approvingly above me.

Shivering uncontrollably from the aftershock of my orgasm, I struggled to catch my breath. The Ishi licked up my cum from his fingertips slowly, almost as if to give me a show. I felt tempted to tell him that I couldn't see a single thing, but managed to swallow my words.

"So, how do you feel?" He asked, leisurely grooming his tail. I was about to answer when I suddenly noticed his dick was still buried in my lips. Blushing profusely, I spat it out.

"I hate you…" I growled, unable to meet his eyes. I couldn't even bear to look at myself right now. I'm a mess…

"You know, they say that there's people out there who treat the one they like coldly." Dicentra laughed through his fur. "What are they called again? Tsundere? Something like tha-"

"S-shut up!" I shouted louder than intended. Feeling my cheeks heating up slowly, I sat up. "Y-you're such an idiot!"

"Oh? You're blushing… Heh, stop lying to yourself. You do like me," He laughed.

I tried yelling at him again, but words refused to form in my throat. What was it about this guy that made me so flustered? He's from the Ishi, an enemy, and yet… Why was I blushing over him?

"W-why the hell would I like a prick like you?" I snarled, successfully pushing him off from atop of me. Hearing a painful thud, I grinned triumphantly. "Ha! I would never like an Ishi bastard! I already have my eyes on someone (Arceus forbid Frost from _ever _hearing this) and he's a tab bit better than you! He's stronger, better looking, nicer, and a whole lot se-"

A groan echoing from Dicentra's throat snapped me out of my rant. I frowned, trying to piece what I was hearing together. A wet, sliding sound was all I needed before the realization of what he was doing hit me like a truck.

"The hell?" I yelped and jumped back, my heart beating like a drum against my chest. He was fingering himself. In front of me. I could practically see that damn grin on his face as he watched my reaction through his own moans.

"Well? L…like what you see?" He laughed breathlessly. I just froze up, unsure what to do. Who the hell suddenly starts fingering himself in front of his enemy? My heart skipped a beat as the sound of his sliding three fingers into his cave reached my ears.

My length instantly hardened and I gulped down a breath of air. I could feel my pulse racing out of control at the image of Dicentra, the great "Beast" of the Ishi, lying in front of me with his paw in his rum. Stepping closer in spite of myself, the scent of his arousal washed over me like a drug.

"I…never t-thought of you as an uke before…" I stuttered. He chuckled and sped up his pace with his fingers, lathering his saliva mixed with my cum into his tight hole.

"Heh, trust me. If I were… ever a seme, I would probably end up killing someone…" His breathing grew harsher. I could tell he was getting close.

Suddenly, I felt myself being shoved on my back. Without warning, Dicentra straddled my hips and slid my erection against his puckering rear. He leaned closer to me and kissed my blushing cheek.

"Ready?" He whispered. I just barely nodded. The Buizel's maw stretched into his trademark toothy grin before he slammed himself down on me, impaling himself on my length.

"Aaaaah!" I gasped, grasping the grass beneath me so hard that it ripped. I slid in without much difficultly due to our mixed fluids. He was so hot, his tight walls gripping my member tightly as he slid all the way to the hilt.

"Mmmm," He purred, his tails behind him wagging wildly. I guess he was enjoying this. I felt his paws stroking over my chest, using it as leverage as he lifted himself back up. "Geez G-Grey…ah…ah…you're so…big for a little…guy…"

"Are…ah…you calling me small?" I growled. I wasn't even aware of what I was doing before I found myself smashing our hips together, shoving my member deep into his moist cavern.

"Aaaah! You little…" I could feel his breathe hitch when I struck a certain spot inside him, sending a tidal wave of pleasure through the Buizel. As he was struggling to catch his breath, I felt his tails prodding at my ass. He grinned slyly. "Hey…I'm not going to be…the only one playing catcher here…"

Yelping pathetically, I tensed up as his silky tail slowly enter me. It was a strange feeling, painful even. I found myself suddenly burying my face into Dicentra's chest, whimpering. His paw stroked the back of my head as he gently inched more and more into my rear, wiggling against my moist folds.

"…there. It's all in," He whispered into my ear and held me tightly. I felt tears starting to well up in my eyes as the pain gripped me mercilessly.

"T-take it out-"

"Shhh…it'll get better, I promise," He murmured softly into my ear. I inhaled deeply. He was so warm and comforting… For that moment, the thought of him being a murderer, and Ishi, faded from my mind.

He started moving again. His tense pucker gripped my length tightly as he slid up and almost completely off of me. I felt pre leak constantly from my tip as his rum grasped just below it. His tail slowly left its place as well. The emptiness I felt inside and out was unbearable.

"S-stop taking so long." I whined. I heard him chuckle on top of me.

"So you do like this, don't you-"

I was tired of his voice. Leaning up to his face, I quickly pressed my lips against his. Our tongues automatically dueled with each other, quickly swapping saliva. I smiled when I heard him moaning into the kiss.

"Just shut up and fuck me," I growled.

"Hah, my pleasure."

Dicentra slammed himself down on me, enveloping my length once more with that wet hotness and pleasure. His tail slid into me as well, stretching me well. Waves and waves of ecstasy washed over my body, almost making me faint.

Instinctively, I thrusted into him. The Buizel took this chance to reposition his tail. Every time I shoved in, his moans would spur me on and every time I pulled out, his tail would push against my prostate, lulling me back in. This pleasure almost made me black out from the sheer intensity.

His own shaft rubbed up against my belly as we went into a steady rhythm. Soon, we were both lost in our own little world of pure ecstasy, the Buizel riding me with all he had. His jabbing at my prostate send shivers down my spine. My ring of muscles squeezed it so hard I thought it might break.

Deciding to add to the fun, I reached my paw down and delicately stroked his shaft, tickling it with my soft fur. It felt so ridged and hard, yet so yielding at the tip. I heard him moan shakily as I gently caress his length, spreading his pre all over the base.

His tail suddenly jabbed my sweet spot so hard that I lost my breath. My insides instantly filled up with heat from my arousal, throwing me into a trance. Pressure started to build in my loins, indicating my incoming orgasm.

"D-Dicentra," I gasped between my pants. "I-I think I'm…I'm close…"

"Heh…me too…" His voice was very ragged. His paw slid back behind my head, massaging my scalp snuggly. "I…don't really want…this to end…though…"

"Oh, so you're…gonna torture me…and not let me cum?" I teased, all the while fighting back the urge to just burst right then and there. Dicentra grinned through his sweaty fur and laughed.

"Ok, you asked for it…" His teeth suddenly clamped onto my shoulder, digging in deeply. Blood gushed out of the wound slowly, pain striking through me like a sword. I gasped out, clenching my teeth tightly. But the moment I felt his tongue licking it up soothingly, I felt all my discomfort slowly turn into a pleasant tingling.

Our hips touched for one last time before my seed erupted, filling the Buizel up until it began leaking out of his pucker. Rippling pleasure bolted through me like lightning, shooting through every vein and nerve. My lusty moans echoed through the whole forest, only to be matched by Dicentra's own purring.

The Buizel's ass gripped me tightly in a vice grip, milking me for all I had. His own shaft was shaking from being filled up from my warmth, lasting only seconds before his semen began pooling on my abdomen, forming a large white puddle.

He slowly slid his tail out from inside me as we both collapsed in a mess of seed and sweat. Our breathing was ecstatic, our hearts pumping like we just ran a marathon. Dicentra's half-lidded eyes looked into my own, staring deeply. For perhaps the millionth time in my life, I wished that I could see.

"Love you Grey," He whispered softly, his breath tickling my ear.

I couldn't muster the courage to answer back.

**(…)**

When I woke up, I found myself being carried gently on Dicentra's back as he strolled through the soft forest air. Our pelts brushed softly, rousing me from my cozy sleep. I tried my best to stay quiet, but he noticed me and grinned.

"Hey, you're awake already?" His smile was one of content and satisfaction. He looked like he was just given the while world. "I didn't want to wake you yet, you looked so cute when you're sleeping."

"Idiot," I growled. "Where the hell are you taking me?"

"Geez, maybe I should have just left you there."

"Yeah, you should have," I muttered indignantly, avoiding his gaze (not that I could see it anyway). My heart thumped heavily against my chest as I suddenly realized how close we were. His orange fur was warm against my face, almost lulling me back to sleep. A blush painted my face as the memories of the last hour or so flooded back to my mind.

"So…" I mumbled, clearly embarrassed. "What are you planning on making me do next? I… only did one out of three…you know…"

His grin grew to a pure joyful smile as we walked further through the thick forest undergrowth, his tails wagging lightly behind us.

"You do like me don't you?" Dicentra looked back at me almost teasingly. I was about to retort when he interrupted. "You're such a tsundere, you know that?"

"S-shut up!" I snapped. "Just tell me what you're planning to do next! I just want to get this over with."

"Ah, well…" He rolled back his eyes as if to think. "I wanted for the two of us to take a bath at the river, but you want some more fun-"

"No! A bath is fine!" I blurted out frantically.

His snicker made me blush as we trekked toward our destination. Soon enough, we reached a rather secluded spot in the river where we waded into slowly.

I shivered. The water was ice cold, sweeping through my fur like a chilled wind. Dicentra took notice of this and hugged me from behind, wrapping his tails around my front in the process. Warmth instantly flooded my face, but I doubt it was from what he expected it to be.

"Hey, get on you back," He laid me on the riverbed gently. "Most of the gunk is stuck to the fur on your stomach."

"Who are you, my mother?" I retorted. This made him laugh, but he did have a point. As I uncomfortably got in the said positioning the cold water, I noticed my pelt caked with dried fluids. They stood out like fireflies against my dark, black fur.

I did my best to stay still as Dicentra lowered his muzzle and licked his way through my fur. An awkward blush colored my cheeks again when I realized what he must have been tasting. He seemed to enjoy it though his he untangled knots and made his way through the forest of black fuzz.

For a cold, merciless murderer, he certainly took his time washing me up (although I think it was for a different reason). He soaked through every nook and cranny on me, making sure I was spotless. He had me thrashing in a tickling fit when he was washing under my forelegs and the pads of my paws.

"You know…" I spoke up as he was finishing up. "You could actually be a pretty nice guy when you want to be…"

"Is this a confession?" He grinned jokingly.

"S-shut up!" I glared through my scarlet cheeks. My expression turned serious. "Why do you even fight for the Ishi anyway? You only end up killing countless innocent people. Is this even what you want?"

"…" He was silent as he scrubbed the last spot on my neck, around the spot where he bit me. Feeling the tension, I half-heartedly embraced him in a hug.

"I just don't believe you're the kind of person to do this anymore…" I whispered. His paws wrapped around my waist, tightening our little hub.

"You know…" He mumbled. "I never wanted to kill anyone either…but then again, I'm just a heartless murderer…"

I pang of guilt shot through my chest, regretting the words I had said earlier. Breaking apart our embrace, and settled back down on the icy cold riverbed. He watched me silently as he took a seat with me.

"You know, this reminds me," Dicentra began. "I happened to overhear from my mentor that our clan planted a spy in the Carina. I'm not sure who it is or when he was send here, but it's best that you be careful."

"Why are you bringing this up all of the sudden?" I grunted, but was surprised nonetheless. A spy in the clan could lead to the leaking of critical information. A sudden though stuck though my mind. What if this spy finds out that Cloud isn't in the clan? That could mean that he wasted all his time and effort here with Dicentra…

"…do you hate me?" His voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up at the said Ishi, surprised.

"Does it matter?" I muttered, clearly unsure of it myself. I glanced up at the sky, despite being unable to see it, I could still feel the sun's heat. The day would be over soon, it seems. I'll need to get back to camp before the sun sets. "Anyway, we already did two out of the three things you wanted. What's next?"

I could feel his eyes pierce into me like a pair of gentle, lonely embers. His paw reached around my head and pulled me in closer. His breath tickled my fur as the distance between us closed.

"Kiss me…" He said in barely a whisper. A blush instantly washed over my cheeks.

"W-what? Didn't we already do that?" I stuttered.

"Yeah, but I want one more before I leave," His usual toothy grin reappeared on his face. I was shaking rather nervously. What was it about him that makes me like this? Unsteadily, I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his. It only lasted for a split second before I anxiously pulled back out of reflex.

"Wow, you're a really bad kisser," Dicentra laughed.

"S-shut it!" I snapped, my blushed growing even heavier.

"Geez, is that the only insult you can think of?"

I grew quiet before leaning forward one more time and leaning my head against his shoulder. His laughing stopped. I felt him pull me into another hug for probably the last time for a while.

"Will I ever see you again?" I whispered, not even sure if I would miss him. I felt him smile.

"Who knows? I'm a murderer with enough enemies to make an army. I'm not even sure if I'll live long enough to get back to my clan." He chuckled as if it was a joking matter. He broke apart our embrace and pointed at my neck. "I've marked you though, so you better not go off with someone else if I'm still alive."

"I won't make any promises," I mumbled under my breath. He laughed before taking his leave. As I felt his presence grow weaker and weaker, I called out after him.

"Hey!" He stopped, but didn't look back. I hesitated. "It looks like you have a heart after all…"

Dicentra paused. "Yeah, I do. But the question is, can you stop its bleeding?"

* * *

><p><strong>BCY: If you guys were looking for a hardcore rape lemon, I'm sorry I couldn't meet your needs. Love isn't all about sex you know! I wanted something slow and fluffy. Hehe, I've always imagined Dicentra to want someone to dominate himself. He's so awesome! (when he's not killing people).<strong>


	8. Pyro

Days at the camp seemed to grow dimmer as time went on. Grey refused to come out of the medicine den (lest someone sees that he's been marked) and acted colder than ever. Everyone was worried, but only a few were told what happened.

Frost was absolutely shocked. Grey could feel how the ice fox's muscles stiffened in horror as he told him his story. Frost immediately pledged that, as his friend, he would always stick by his side. Despite his stormy mood, the blind healer couldn't help but feel moved by his words.

Originally, he had only wanted Frost to know. But of course, Ren was eavesdropping outside (it seems like he's been doing a lot of that lately) and found out. Although he did promise not to tell anyone, he was still a pain in the neck.

"So Grey," Ren said casually. The Luxio leaned close to his ear, his voice dropping to a low whisper. "Uke or seme?"

Grey glowed red and immediately planted a Shadow Ball to his face. Frost gladly did him the favor of dragging the unconscious electric type out of the room, leaving him at peace. Well, as much peace as he could offer at least.

As much as he wanted him to get out, Pyro was still situated in the medicine den due to his injuries. More often than not, the blind healer would forget to put the pain-killing poppy seeds into his brother's poultice and watch sadistically as he writhed in agony. That ended quickly, however, since Aster came to visit and help out so often.

To Grey, those two fire types were a perfect pair…of idiots. Pyro seemed to like Aster quite a lot, but never really had the guts to speak up. And the shy little Quilava was just too timid to even think about it. He had tried talking to the nest maid as often as possible but he would always reply with awkward stutters. Grey really just wanted to see the two of them mate and get it over with.

With all seriousness, that wasn't the reason why he's trying to get to know Quilava more (even though they may become brothers-in-law soon). Even since Dicentra left, he has been mulling over whom the spy in Carina could be. Most likely, it should be someone who wasn't born into the clan but was accepted by the grace of their Alpha, like Frost and Cloud. After spending several hours with hard-of-hearing elders, Grey discovered that the only person who matched this description besides the two Glaceon brothers was Aster.

It turns out that the shy Quilava was once a loner that found Pyro injured during his warrior assessment. He did his best to take care of the Carina for several weeks before the clan found them. After hearing about Aster's kindness, Dusk generously offered a place for him in the clan, which he gladly accepted.

_There's no way he could be from the Ishi though,_ Grey mulled, watching the Quilava gently tend to his bother's wounds. Aster was pretty much a weakling (he got the crap kicked out of him by a couple Rattata when he arrived) and definitely lacked the dangerous air of the enemy clan. Even if he was working for them, he could have caused a huge amount of damage after all these years in the Carina. He has the trust of the elders, almost all the warriors, and especially the kits. Manipulating them would be easy if he wanted to.

Grey sighed and flicked his tail out of frustration. He had no more leads. It's not like he suspected Aster of being a traitor. He could feel the vibes of all living things around him, and Aster's vibes showed anything but traitorous.

The need to blow off some steam was high. Deciding to beat Ren to a pulp again, Grey made his way out of the medicine den and left the two fire types alone.

**(…)**

"Geez, I don't get why he hates me so much. I mean, I'm only doing what I think is best for his safety! What's so wrong with that?" Pyro huffed, grimacing at the pain in his chest. He's finally able to move around after Grey broke his ribs, but it still hurt. A lot.

"W-well," Aster smiled softly, applying more poultice (With pain-killers this time) onto his denmate and massaged the wound with gentle heat. "Y-you have been a bit overprotective. Grey is blind, but he's one of the strongest apprentices in the clan. And he's probably one of the smartest too."

Pyro murred at the comforting warmth and leaned onto the nest maid's chest. Aster blushed violet.

"Heh, when Grey told me he wanted to be a healer, I imagined him to become a nice and gentle person like you. Pff, yeah right. Things never work out for me, huh?" The Flareon sighed and stood up before slowly limping out of the den. Aster gasped and hurried after him.

"Pyro! Y-you're not supposed to be up yet!" The nest maid yelped worriedly. Pyro rolled his eyes and ignored him.

"I've been cooped up in the medicine den for almost four days. Can't I at least go and wash up at the river?" He huffed.

"Somehow, you saying that sounds a bit ironic…" Aster giggled under his breath.

The two fire types took their time strolling to the river. The injured Flareon quickly tired out and had to lean on Aster's shoulder for support. The nest maid secretly relished the feeling of their pelts brushing together as they walked, little to Pyro's knowledge. By the time they made it to their destination he was a blushing mess.

Pyro glanced up, completely oblivious.

"Aster, do you have a fever or something? You look kinda red," He said, pressing their foreheads together.

Aster felt his heart practically stop. Pyro's soft breath tickled his fur, his closeness fueling his blush even more. It took him a minute to even comprehend what the fire type just asked.

"W-wah? I-I was j-just a bit…overheated f-from being under t-the sun!" The frantic nest maid squealed.

Pyro's eyebrow rose suspiciously, but said nothing before cautiously wading into the river. Settling down in a shallow area, he waved his fluffy tail at Aster to join.

"Come on in, the water's great!" He called. The Quilava was a bit hesitant at first but slowly entering the water with his denmate, shivering slightly at the colder temperature. Pyro then attempted grooming his fur, but stopped immediately from the intense pain shooting through his chest.

Grimacing painfully, he almost fell over if Aster wasn't there to catch him. The two of them chuckled heartedly at their lack of grace.

"Pyro, stay still," The nest maid said. Warm paws slowly reached out and slid through Pyro's fluffy mane, smoothing out wrinkles and untangling knots with ease. The other fire-type relaxed and purred with content.

"Hey Aster, doesn't this remind you of how we first met?" Pyro sighed, muscles unwinding from his friend's affectionate ministrations. Aster blushed fiercely.

"Y-yeah…" His voice trailed off.

"Heh, if it wasn't for you, I would have probably died out there," The warrior grinned with gratitude. "It's been an entire year and I still haven't paid you back yet. All you do is help everyone out. It's hard to find people like you these days, you know? You really are one of a kind."

Aster's paws suddenly stopped, his lips tightening. A soft, sad smile spread across the nest maid's face, tears welling up in his eyes. Pyro's eyes widened in surprise when he felt his denmate's paws wrap around his neck in an appreciative hug.

"T…thank you Pyro…" Aster whispered, burying his face in his friend's fluffy mane. "Y-you're one of a kind too…"

The Flareon blushed, mentally smiling like a bright happy kit. He leaned over to give his friend an affectionate lick on the cheek. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) Aster unknowingly turned his head and Pyro's tongue ended up in his mouth.

The two of them immediately reared back in shock. The injured Flareon's pelt was literally glowing scarlet from embarrassment.

"S-s-sorry! I w-was j-just…" Pyro stuttered frantically, completely at loss for words. He sounded almost exactly like Aster now.

"I-it's alright," The said Quilava chuckled and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. To be honest, he was burning up on the inside. His first kiss with Pyro! The little kit living in the perverted side Aster's mind did five summersaults of triumph. His tongue flickered around the roof of his mouth, tasting his denmate's saliva.

"W-wait…" Aster's cheeks suddenly went red. "T-this taste…"

"I can explain!" Pyro practically screeched in panic, almost turning into a blushing red fireball. "I was cooped up in the den all day and there was nothing to do and there was a lot of stress! I just snuck out and-and-and-"

Aster stopped listening halfway, still in complete bewilderment at the flavor that was spreading over his taste buds. Was this…seed? His heart nearly leapt out of his throat. Did he just taste Pyro's…

"-it's not what it looks like! I was only trying to relieve some stress and there was nothing else to do! I'm so so so so sorry-!"

"You taste good…" Aster murred before he could stop himself. They both froze. What?

Pyro slowly calmed down, but his blush did not go away. "Did you just say I taste good?"

"N-no! I…I…" The nest maid looked away, unable to meet his friend's eyes. "W-well, yeah. I did."

The warrior purred, grinning slightly.

"I guess I should be flattered." He chuckled sheepishly.

And awkward silence hung in the air around them for what seemed like an eternity. Not a single moment of eye contact was made, probably cuz Aster suddenly found the stones lingering at their feet fascinating. This was definitely not going anywhere.

Pyro glanced at his denmate and smiled, a blush still remaining on his face Leaning forward, he stole a quick kiss with Aster on the cheek.

"Ready to head back now?" The Flareon asked lightly. Aster flushed, nodding slowly. The two made their way back to the camp without saying a word. Though, for Pyro, none were needed. His smile was burning like the brightest of fires.

**(…)**

"Hey Delf! What are you doing?" Pine squealed in his oh so happy smile. You'd think that being halfway submerged underwater would make it difficult for him to talk. But of course, it's Pine we're talking about here, so nothing could possibly stop his mouth from making noise.

"Shhh!" The Dewott hissed and turned his attention back to the dark, shaded areas of the forest from his well-hidden spot in the river. "We're supposed to be spying here! Stop making so much noise!"

"Aw, you're no fun…" Pine pouted, bubbles trailing out of his mouth. The Linoone giggled and wrapped his arms around his mate in another friendly hug.

Delf ignored him, staring intently at the suspicious shadows moving in the trees. The Bosque? Yes, it has to be them. Who else could be so skilled as to practically disappear out of their sight and reappear somewhere else? They were strong, that's for sure. No wonder why the Mizu's Alpha ordered him to come gather information on their activities. Of course, when Pine found out, he insisted on tagging along.

But that's not the problem here. Why are the Bosque consorting with the Ishi? Could there be some sort of alliance forming between them? If so, this would not be good for the other two clans. He squinted his eyes and ears, trying to listen more into the conversation.

"-and you are absolutely sure? Cloud has indeed returned to Carina?" A gruff voice asked. His voice had a deep, dangerous tone in it.

"Of course. Our specialty is intellect gathering. We have seen that so called prodigy with our own eyes."

"And he's ill too hmm? This could work out just fine…" The gruff voice seemed to turn back, deep in thought. "Seems like the info Dicentra gave us was wrong. We'll deal with him later. For now, prepare to launch a little attack to test their strength."

"Understood."

There was a low pause.

"Oh, and of course, thank you. I, on behalf of all the Ishi, am very grateful for the Bosque's support. The start of a new war in inevitable, as is our victory."


	9. Ren

**BCY: Sorry guys! I kinda accidentally took a two month long hiatus. I had exams as an excuse, then my parents whisked me away to China. WITHOUT A COMPUTER*sobs* I'm so sorry! :(**

**I promise I'll start writing more now! (Wah~ And there isn't even a lemon in this chapter. Just more plot bunnies! *cries*)**

**I just want to take a moment to thank all those who stuck with this story and those who still like it. I love you readers! :D**

**I started a few other stories that you may like though. There's ****Blinded Hearts****, and AU version of this story from Grey's point of view and with a different plot. There's also ****Timeless Love****, a DialgaxKyurem twoshot. You can find them on my profile. ^^**

* * *

><p>The leaves of the forest trees fluttered leisurely against the afternoon breeze as the two companions strolled further away from Carina camp. A certain broad-shouldered Luxio tensed under the rigid silence. He watched his ill tempered denmate glare forward into the forest trail, refusing to make eye contact. Ren didn't know exactly why the Glaceon was so pissed off at him, but at least he could say that he felt guilty for whatever it was. Sure, he could be a jerk at times. That much he knows. It's not like he's trying to be a total prick. Stuff just happens, and worlds come out of his muzzle before he realized what he was saying. Everyone has this kind of problem, didn't they?<p>

Ren sighed, finally sick from the lack of spoken words.

"Geez kit. Could you at least tell me _why_ you're so mad?" He huffed.

Frost growled rather uncharacteristically. "It's cuz you're such an ass! Why the hell did you say something like that to Grey?"

Oh, so it was that.

"I just wanted to know," The broad-shouldered Luxio shrugged. Frost gaped at him in shock.

"How can you be so insensitive? He…he just got _that _done to him! The least you can do is be a little comforting! Sheesh, I thought you said you were our den's leader or something."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say I'm the leader, I _am _the leader. Anyway, there's nothing to comfort. I'd bet my virginity that he secretly enjoyed the whole thing."

A heavy blush instantly washed over the innocent ice fox's face. "H-h-he what?"

Enjoying this reaction, the Luxio went on in this perverted analysis. "Grey wasn't limping, so that means he's likely to e seme. And he blushes a little every time he thinks about it. Trust me, I've seen it everywhere. He's like a lovestruck female in heat."

Frost's face was glowing scarlet. The ice fox looked like he wanted to say something, but embarrassment prevented anything from leaving his throat. After a few moments of stuttering, he managed to say, "W-w-what does seme mean?" He asked, his long ears drooping cutely.

Now it was Ren's turn to gape.

"WHAT? If you didn't know what it was then why did you act so mad?"

"W-well, Grey looked really upset so…" Completely flustered, the ice fox's voiced trailed off into nothing.

Ren's eye twitched as if something was bothering it.

"Do…you even know…ANYTHING about mating?"

Frost looked like he was going to die from embarrassment right then and there. Barely able to speak, he shook his head.

So he really doesn't know? Ren sniggered slightly under his breath. Does this kit have any idea how cute he looks right now? If the Luxio wasn't as self controlled as he was, he could probably be glomping him in a death hug right now. Seriously, Frost was just so innocent and delectable-

"C-could y-you…teach me?" Frost's eyes were fixed to the ground, unable to meet his own.

…

…

…What? Did he just-?

"W-well, I mean, y-you sound like you know a lot s-so…" Ren stared at his denmate, his face almost as red as the ice fox's. What the heck was he doing? Just say yes! All of his perverted dreams and fantasies could come true with just one word! In the next few moments, he could have Frost squirming under him as he himself coax fabulous moans of pleasure out of that cute little maw-

"No."

Frost blinked, somewhat surprised. Ren's face was still red as can be.

"I-I can't. It's not like I don't want to teach you-" The Luxio spluttered quickly, averting his eyes. "It's just that… I'd probably end up doing something stupid. I… won't be able to control myself very well so…you know…"

When he finally dared to look up, he found himself faced with a smiling Frost.

"Aw, so you do care about me," The Glaceon giggled and gave his blushing denmate an affectionate lick on the cheek. "How sweet~ It looks like you're not as big of a jerk as I thought."

Ren rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. The two Carinas strolled peacefully side-by-side, just close enough for their pelts to brush against each other. It was impossible to hide the fact that both their blushing faces were bright and most content.

"Say," Frost began suddenly. "Who's that Espeon that's always trailing after you?"

"Oh, Cherry? She's just some crazy female that's been after me since I became an apprentice. Ugh, she's a complete nightmare." The broad-shouldered Luxio visibly shuddered. He looked back to Frost, eyebrow raised. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason!" The ice fox replied all to casually.

"Are you jealous?" Ren teased. "I won't blame you if you are. I _am_ rather good-looking after all."

"Pfft," Frost scoffed. "You're so full of yourself."

"Is that a yes?"

"As if!"

Their idle chatting was interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream. It rang through the forest and hit their ears with the force of a blizzard, turning their blood to ice. The two Carina exchanged a quick glance before dashing off to find the source. The thickets and bramble scratched at their pelts as they ran, but they were much too preoccupied to pay it any heed.

Ren took a deep breath. The air was thick with the scent of the Ishi. There had to be at least six of them. And… there's a tinge of a Mizu as well. Strange…sure, the Carina and Mizu could be considered friendly neighbors, but it's not often one of them moves into the territory of the other.

Before long, they reached the scene. A Mizu Vaporeon lay on the cold forest floor, a small puddle of blood pooling under her. She was surrounded by a group of rather savage looking Ishi members. The said water type had a fine sheen of sweat covering her forehead, doing her best just to breathe.

It didn't surprise Ren one bit that Frost charged in to help her without a second though. The ice fox barreled over a large Houndoom and froze its back end to a tree and sent an Arcanine flying into the woods with a blast of Blizzard, all within a blink of an eye. Wow, he's not Cloud's little brother for nothing.

The broad-shouldered Luxio couldn't help but smile. The kit has certainly gotten stronger than before. He turned his attention leisurely back to the enemy. Three Blitzle, and a Zebstrika? Hmph, what a pain. It doesn't look like launching massive balls of lightning randomly at them will work.

"Ha, an apprentice? What, you think you can take all four of us on?" The Zebstrika smirked. His hooves stomped on the ground, kicking up dirt. Hmph, was that supposed to intimidate him?

"I better be able to take you. I have a reputation to uphold," Ren laughed, his voice free of worry. "Not to mention, if I get sent to the medicine den again, our clan's healer is gonna kill me."

The Ishi thugs were slightly unnerved by his smug tone. The three Blitzle snarled and simultaneously shot bolts of blue, cackling electricity at him. Completely unfazed, Ren redirected the attack to the ground with a flick of his tail. He was an electric type, and influencing magnetism to bend foreign lightning wasn't completely out of his book. It took a ton of practice and sweat, but it sure paid off in the end.

Ren looked around at his shocked (no pun intended) opponents with narrowed eyes. Using his usual element to attack them was definitely not an effective plan, and they have an advantage in numbers. He'll need to be a little more creative this time. Glancing quickly in Frost's direction, Ren smirked slightly. Good, he was out of range.

The Luxio looked up at the Zebstrika and sighed. "You Ishi are such a pain, you know that? I'm lucky the afternoon breeze died down already."

The enemy clan jumped up in shock as the air around them lit up in a massive mess of blue electric threads. They settled down quickly when they realized the lightning would do them no harm. There was a lot of electricity, but it was weak. They weren't even real bolts. The Luxio's attack was more like a thick glowing haze hanging in the air.

"Kid, you've got to be kidding me! You actually expect to beat us with this kind of firepower?" The Ishi Zebstrika smirked. "The Carina must be a real piece of work with a wimpy apprentice like you!"

Ren's eyebrow rose. "'A measly ember can beat a rushing forest fire if used with wit.' That's what my mentor taught me. And for your information, I hold the title of being the strongest apprentice."

"Carina's apprentices must be all crap then." The Zebstrika took the first step and rushed forward with a fiery Flame Charge. The attack missed entirely and the electric type found the Luxio up in the air ten feet above him. Magnet Rise.

Ren took a deep breath and in seconds, the air grew thicker with shimmering threads of blue voltage, surrounding the enemy, but was unable to even touch their lightning resistant bodies. Despite the glowing haze, he could still see the arrogant sneers of the Blitzle and Zebstrika. The energy he was producing was high in quantity, but was certainly unable to do any harm. Ren sighed.

"Do you smell it?" He asked. The Ishi thugs perked up. Now that he mentioned it, a heavy odor hung in the air, like a battery short-circuiting. Suddenly, the Zebstrika's head was overwhelmed with dizziness and it was all he could do before falling to the ground.

"Wha- What did you do?" The zebra snarled, barely conscious. His subordinates soon joined him on the ground. Ren looked down at them from his high perch. Cautiously, he landed on a tall pine tree.

"It's ozone. I've been splitting the oxygen in the air and reassembling them into ozone. It's a rather toxic gas, despite being called 'pure air' by some people. It's a good thing that the wind isn't blowing right now, otherwise it would've just blown everything away."

The broad-shouldered Luxio smiled quietly as his enemies passed out one by one. _Thanks Noru. You're not half-bad as a mentor._ "Sorry, Ishi. If I lost to you, my title would probably be taken by _him._ I'd rather not have a little kit hold the title of the strongest apprentice over my head."

"Ren! What the heck are you doing mumbling to yourself!" Frost shouted. Ren looked over his shoulder, rather annoyed.

"I'm just finishing up here!" The Luxio called back and jerked his head toward the zebras. "Are you done too?"

"Yes, now shut up and make yourself useful! Go get Grey!" The ice fox yelled with a tinge of panic. He knelt by the fallen Mizu's side and whispered comforting words into the female Vaporeon's ear.

"Why, are you hurt?" Ren smirked as he jumped down from the tree.

"Are you blind? The baby's coming! Go! Now dammit!"

…

…

…WHAT?

**(…)**

The screams and pained moans of the Vaporeon made their way to their ears, despite being muffled by the walls of a hastily made ice tent surrounding the laboring mother. Frost, Ren, and Cloud waited patiently on the outside while Grey and Fern tended to the stranger. It was quite unnerving to hear such painful sounds during what was supposed to be the beginning of a new living being. Frost shifted his weight from on paw to the other, glancing up at his brother nervously.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" The younger Glaceon asked.

Ren scoffed. "She's a Mizu, a trespasser! She shouldn't be here in the first place!"

Cloud looked down at the older apprentice sternly. The elder brother was rather large for a Glaceon and towered two inches over Ren giving him a sense of authority.

"Did you ever consider the possibility that she may have been involuntarily chased here by the Ishi? This Vaporeon is obviously a seasoned warrior who should know better, and she probably wouldn't have crossed into our borders while carrying a child unless she absolutely had to." Cloud explained. Frost smiled brightly at his brother in what was almost in reverence, wagging his tail cheerfully.

"Wow brother, you're really smart!" He giggled like a child who had been told something interesting.

"You're such a kit," Ren muttered, rolling his eyes. Frost pouted rather cutely, but said nothing. The ice fox leaned against his brother's shoulder affectionately for comfort, which Cloud responded by wrapping his tail around his younger sibling's side. A certain broad-shouldered Luxio stared at them rather jealously as the screaming inside the tent became louder.

Suddenly, it stopped. The three Carina standing outside held their breaths for a moment, only releasing them when they heard the sound of a crying, newborn kit.

Grey stepped out from the tent and looked up at them wearily with his sightless eyes.

"She should be fine now. I don't think she can move back to the Mizu anytime soon though, sir." The healer reported rather respectfully to Cloud. The elder Glaceon sibling laughed and patted Grey on the head.

"Geez, there's no need to be so formal. And none of this 'sir' business, just call me Cloud." He chuckled good-naturedly. Grey blushed slightly and nodded. Ren rolled his eyes. Is Frost's brother really such a-

"Heeeeeey Frost! Oh, and Ren too!" Fern called out from inside the tent. "The Mizu lady want to speak to you! And her name's Mist by the way."

The two apprentices raised their eyebrows slightly, but entered the tent anyway. The sight that awaited them took their breath away. A newborn kit… the little Eevee was now sleeping and curled up beside his mother. His face…was so peaceful…

"He's beautiful…" Frost piped up with a smiling face. The Vaporeon, despite being so tired, couldn't help but smile back.

"Yes, and it's all thanks to the both of you…" Mist beamed at them. "I can't thank the two of you enough. When those Ishi attacked me, I thought I was done for…Thank you so much for saving me and my son."

"W-w-well, it was n-nothing!" The ice fox stuttered shyly. Ren rolled his eyes and looked away. All this family stuff was getting too mushy for him.

"Whatever…" The Luxio muttered and strolled briskly out of the tent. Frost frowned.

"Ren! How could you-"

"No Frost. Leave him." The ice fox looked up at Fern, scowling deeply. The healer sighed and nodded apologetically to Mist. "Sorry about that. Ren is… a bit unforgiving, especially in this kind of situation."

Mist nodded back slowly. "Yes, I understand. I don't blame him at all. He must have his reasons."

Fern sighed and looked tiredly towards Frost. "That, he does. Ren's father was killed by and Ishi during the war, his mother killed by the Mizu, and the Bosque slaughtered his four brothers and sisters. His whole family, completely wiped out the other clans."

Frost's eyes widened. "W-what? I always thought he was just a jerk…So that's why he hated me so much when I got here. I was an outsider. And I beat him up so bad too…" The ice fox stared at his paws, guilt spreading through his chest.

Reaching out with a paw, Fern ruffled the fur on the top of his head. "Heh, actually, I think Ren likes you a bit. You 'lost' your brother, after all. He even convinced Dusk to help rescue him."

_Ren…_ Frost gazed outside the tent sadly.

**(…)**

Throughout the whole conversation, Ren himself was listening outside (eavesdropping again). He leaned against the cold walls of the ice tent tiredly, staring up at the white clouds floating in the sky.

_Mother…Father… _He gritted his teeth and tore his gaze from the sky. _I'm supposed to hate them…those people that killed you…outsiders…_

_ And yet…why am I falling in love for the one that I'm supposed to hate?_


	10. Chester

**BCY: Hey guys! Sorry for taking so long. Yes, I know I've been promising to be faster at updating, but school's being difficult. Aaannd, I guess I should explain how I work. I usually write my stories during my lunch break at school. Yes, even the lemons (which is why I'm constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure no one's watching). This year, I don't have a lunch period, so writing is going to be a bit slower. I'm sorry! But don't worry, I won't give up on this story. IT"S NOT DEAD YET!**

**Oh, and I would like to thank all those readers who sent messages to me and supported me! I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**And a last note. There's a rape scene in this chapter. Unfortunately, my lemon writing skills are a bit rusty and I'm pretty bad at rape scenes, so it might not be that good. ^^;**

* * *

><p>"Well damn," A certain water type muttered to himself.<p>

Things were not going very well for him. A little after Dicentra left the Alpha's den after finishing his report, practically an entire platoon of Ishi warriors came charging at him with death in their eyes. He, being the "Beast" of the Ishi, went into a frenzy and slaughtered almost half of them before realizing what he was doing. Grey would probably be pissed at him for killing off random people. Oh well.

With that thought in mind, the Buizel quickly left the scene and ran off into the wilderness of the mountains, leaving behind a group of terrified and bewildered warriors. Soaked from head to toe in blood, Dicentra dove into a small stream running down the slopes with a splash and made his way upstream. His fellow Ishi members probably expected him to go down to lower land where water was more plentiful. If he had followed those instincts, he'd practically be swimming right into their jaws. Not exactly a pleasant thought. Granted, he'd be closer to the Carina, but they would most likely come after him as well.

As he made a frantic scamper through the mountains, thoughts of his new mate fluttered through his head. He had told his Alpha that Cloud was indeed in the Carina and that he was perfectly strong. Well, it turns out Cloud really _was_ here, but he was sick. Dicentra didn't know why Night would be so pissed at him for leaving out that one little detail but meh, whatever. It was probably an excuse to get rid of him after he killed off so many of his own men.

Half an hour has pasted since then, and the large Buizel was currently hiding in a fallen, hollowed out log near Ishi camp. His breathing was harsh as he listened for incoming footsteps. He figured that the most obvious place to hide would be the least likely to be checked. Hopefully his intuition pays off.

A bead of sweat rolled off Dicentra's forehead as he attempted to clean off the crimson tinge of blood from his pelt, his breathless panting filling up the cramped space of the hollowed out tree. He was closer to the camp than he thought. More often than not, the sound of falling paw-steps of the Ishi fell to his ears.

His heart suddenly skipped a beat. Someone was coming up right next to his log. Dicentra could hear the careful sound of sniffing as footfalls of whoever it was came closer. Damn! Why did he always have to smell like blood?

Dicentra hesitantly peered out of his hiding place to come literally face to face with none other than Fang. His mentor had to look of complete utter shock, gaping at him for several moments. Dicentra stared back, unsure of what to do. The sound of multiple pawsteps came closer and snapped the two of them out of their daze.

Dicentra was about to rip Fang's throat out when the Houndoom suddenly turned around and shouted, "You idiots! What the heck are you doing here? He went into the river! Now get your asses moving before I set them on fire!"

The pawsteps stopped and paused. With a bit of whispering and hesitation, they scampered away in the other direction. Dicentra sighed in relief and let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"Thanks Pops," He looked at his mentor gratefully. Fang scoffed.

"Don't call me 'Pops.' It makes me sound old." The fire-type retorted. He gave his pupil and worried look. "What the hell are you still doing here in the mountains? Night's gonna have your head if you catches you."

"Well kudos for him," Dicentra shrugged. "I don't have anywhere else to go. Sure, I could go to the Carina but they'd probably kill me too. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

Fang was surprised. "Looking for you of course!"

He was answered with a doubtful eye-roll. The fire-type sighed and chuckled.

"Look, just because I'm an Ishi doesn't mean I don't have feelings you know. You're always gonna be my apprentice. Got it memorized?" The Houndoom smiled and nuzzled a shocked Dicentra gently. "I raised you since you were a kid. I taught you everything I could. You're like the only good thing I have in this Ishi hellhole…"

Dicentra stared into his mentor's eyes. The Buizel had never seen him act this way before. Fang had always been only bragging to the other warriors about how he was the one who taught the great 'Beast'. Although he'd hate to admit it, Dicentra really did learn a whole lot from the pompous old dog. Has Fang really been this…proud of him? He couldn't help but smile. "Pfft, it's not like you to get all mushy like this."

"Oh shut up." Fang grinned. "Anyway, we need to get you somewhere safe for the time being."

"Night probably wouldn't think of looking anywhere in the camp." Dicentra offered. A mischievous smirk spread across his mentor's face.

"We could always hide you in the cave with the sex slaves."

"HELL NO!"

"You're such a wimp. Sure, it reeks of sex in there but at least no one can smell the blood on you," He pointed out. "Not to mention how no one wants to get caught going in there while they're on duty. The elites beat the crap out of whoever shirks their work."

Dicentra made a face. "Fine, fine. But I swear when I get out of this mess I'll get you back for this."

"For saving your life?"

"Oh shut up."

**(…)**

They managed to make their way into the cave without many difficulties (thanks to a mysterious Smokescreen that suddenly swept through the camp) and Dicentra was relieved that he wasn't seen by anyone. Despite this he had a lot to complain about.

The smell of the cave hit him like a ton of bricks. The Buizel stumbled back and had to take a moment to recollect his thoughts. There were cum stains everywhere and the faint sound of moans and pained cries echoed from deep inside the cavern.

Dicentra wrinkled his nose and looked back at Fang, who was currently trying his best to hide a snigger.

"I really hate you, you know that?" He muttered indignantly.

"You'll thank me later," The fire type laughed and strolled away casually. "Oh, and good luck~"

This wasn't much of a surprise, but Dicentra was nonetheless pissed. His mentor was quite the bastard. He did have a point though. Sighing in defeat, he reluctantly made his way into the reeking cave while kicking away a few stones.

As he walked, his thoughts slowly drifted to a certain Umbreon. Did Grey even worry about him? Probably not. They've only met for a few days after all, not to mention what he did to him. Even so, the Buizel couldn't help but smile at the brief time they spent together. His life really sucks, doesn't it? He's feeling more attached to a guy he just met than the clan he's lived years with.

His eyes drooped to a daze and his surroundings disappeared from his mind. What is he even going to do with his life anyway? The Ishi's out to get him, and the Carina is probably after his head too. Dicentra sighed again. Sometimes, he just wished he could be a kit again and just restart into a perfect life. He and Grey would share a den together in their own clan and he would spend most of the day bugging and teasing the grumpy dark type while he did his work. It would be a quiet life. There would be no fighting, no war, no more dead people, and no more going into a blood-crazed frenzy. Everything would be just perfect…

Dicentra blinked and looked around. Did he really come this deep into the cave? The groaning sound from before has gotten a lot louder. His curiosity perked, and he tiptoed silently behind a boulder.

Despite being so far into the cave, the rocky tunnel was filled with luminous mushrooms, which lit the dim air quite nicely. He peeked out from behind the boulder and spied two shadows in a rather…sensual position. Looking up at the source, he found an interesting sight.

An Espeon, probably one of the slaves, was tied to several stalactites. There were a number of bruises and cuts on his tiny, obviously abused body. There were tears trickling out the edges of his eyes, staring up at someone standing over him with pure terror in his eyes.

Another Pokemon, a Mightyena, smirked down at his frightened little captive. The dark type had a long scar running down one cheek and almost reaches his jaws, which was twisted in a lewd grin.

"Well then, Chester…" The Mightyena sneered and leaned down into the pink eon's ears. "How does it feel to be my pet again? Do you like it?"

The Espeon, Chester as he seemed to be called, shuddered, straining against the vines the bounded him. The dark type looked as though he was enjoying every ounce of struggle his captive was giving as he traced his tongue down the smaller male's chest.

"No answer? I'll take that as a yes…" He grinned, his husky voice terrifying Chester even more.

"R-Rue! P-please don't h-hurt me-" The Espeon squeaked, only to be slapped across the face by horny Ishi.

"You will call me master," The canine growled disapprovingly. His frown slowly melted into another lewd grin as he laid on top of the slave, their slowly growing lengths pressing together. "Maybe if you beg me enough, your master might be nicer to you this time around."

Chester frantically shook his head, which earned him another slap from Rue. Before he realized it, this 'master's' hard, moist member was pressed up against his cheek. It was huge compared to his own, radiating a red, lusty warmth.

"Suck." He heard him growl. Not wanting to anger him any further, the Espeon gingerly look the length into his mouth, cautiously suckling at the tip. He swirled his tongue around the tip, flickering at the drooling opening. Despite Chester's complete dislike for his life as a slave, he really did enjoy the taste of this.

He felt his binds slacken a bit. Knowing what Rue wanted, his placed his paws around the base of the dick, stroking it slowly as he worked maw in deeper. Wrapping his lips around, he whimpered as the length slide down his throat. The sounds of the Mightyena's moans above him made Chester sick on the inside.

"Ah…looks like you've gotten better at this," Rue sneered and pressed his paw on top of the Espeon's head.

"Mmmrrph-!" Chester managed to squeak out before being roughly force-fed the dark type's hot length. Bitter pre began to fill his taste buds and he had to resist gagging. Tears leaked out the edge of his eyes as the leaking member was shoved in and out of his maw.

Rue seemed to have gotten bored of the feeling and pulled out, the red meat drooling with a mixture of pre and saliva. His eyes ran hungrily over the Espeon's body and with a rough push, he flipped Chester over on his stomach.

"N-no!" The eon whimpered, his voice filled with fear. But there was nothing he could do as he felt his tail being pushed to the side. His heart literally skipped a beat when he felt the dark type's warm, wet member poking at his entrance.

It entered him without warning, stretching his insides out so far that Chester could have sworn he was bleeding. He felt spurts of pre dribbling inside of him as the dark type murred with pleasure. The eon couldn't help but tremble as Rue ruthlessly plowed in and out of him like a feral beast. Unwanted pleasure coursed through his being, spreading through every part of his body despite the pain. More tears streamed from his eyes, soaking into his fur. Why was this happening? What did he do to deserve such a life?

Luckily, the Mightyena didn't seem to last very long today, unlike most of the other sessions. With one final thrust into the smaller male, he let out a long, ecstatic howl. Chester bit his lip, disgusted as the tainted seed of the other Ishi filled him to the point where it was dripping out of his entrance. His muscles were still trembling, exhausted from the ordeal.

Rue, also tired out, collapsed onto his slave, panting deeply for breath.

**(…)**

Dicentra stood up from his seat, getting quite sick of the show (as ironic as it is). Without any intention of concealing himself, he casually waltzed up before the exhausted pair.

The Espeon was the first to see him, and let out a terrified squeal. Rue then looked up and immediately jumped into an aggressive crouch, growling at him fiercely.

"Who the hell are you?" He snarled menacingly. Dicentra only rolled his eyes.

The dark type seemed to have taken offense to his gesture and lunged at him. The Buizel replied with a dull look and stood his ground. In one swift motion, he stepped up and seized the larger male with one paw and slammed his head on the stone floor. There was a sickening crack and the Mightyena fell silent.

He glanced up at the horrified Espeon. "Don't worry, he's not dead. I only knocked him out."

The psychic type eyes were still wide with fear and cowered as far as he could with his binds.

"P-please don't h-hurt me…" He whimpered.

Dicentra sighed and made his way toward him. Cutting off all the vines with his claws, he then soaked the abused eon thoroughly with water. The Espeon spluttered and stared up at the Buizel in confusion.

"W-wha-"

"Clean yourself up," He muttered and sat down on a rock. Dicentra watched the psychic type's bewildered reaction, but was nonetheless amused that he did what he was told. What was his name again? Chester? Heh, this little guy sure was cute.

The Espeon finished cleaning out all the…"stuff" stuck to his pelt and glanced up at him apprehensively. "W-what a-are you gonna do t-to me?"

Dicentra couldn't help but smirk. "Cutey, I'm sure that you're eager to share some rigorous 'activities' with someone as awesome and good-looking as me, but unfortunately for you, I'm already taken." The 'Beast' of the Ishi grinned smugly and puffed out his chest. He looked back down at Chester and ran a claw up his chin. "Say, how about we make a deal?"

"D-deal?" The little eon was absolutely terrified. Dicentra smiled. This guy was adorable!

"Yup. Earlier that jerk said that you know Teleport, right?" The water type said. "How about you get me down to the base of the mountain and I'll help you escape? I'm sure you don't like being here, even though it seems like you're enjoying your job."

A bright blush plastered itself over Chester's face. "O-ok. B-but I can only teleport 80 meters at a time-"

"Then you can just teleport over and over until we get there," Dicentra pointed out. He hopped off his seat and stretched. "Well, shall we get going? I really want to leave before that idiot over there wakes up." He jabbed his finger toward Rue.

Chester gave one glance at the unconscious figure before promptly agreeing, although a bit nervous. The Espeon walked up next to the orange weasel timidly.

"Um, we n-need to be touching to teleport together." He said. Chester let out a surprised squeal when Dicentra suddenly pulled them together in an awkward hug (although the Buizel seemed to be enjoying himself).

"How's this?" He whispered suggestively into the eon's ear. Chester's blush deepened by a shade. The Espeon nodded.

Before Dicentra realized what happened, they were standing just outside of the Ishi camp. The surrounding then flashed again into the mountainside forest. And again, deeper this time. He grinned and looked down at Chester.

"You know, this is kinda neat." He said, quite impressed.

"Th-thanks." Chester replied, still rather flustered to have another's warm body pressed so close to his side. His eyes suddenly widened in surprise. "Um, I think we have company!"

Dicentra glanced behind them. Despite the fact that they were moving 80 meters with every step, there was a large group of almost 40 Ishi warriors hurdling down the mountain after them. There's probably going to be more the further down they got. Seriously, what was their problem? He glanced around as they continued to teleport quickly down the mountain. At this rate, they'll be followed and caught no matter where they went.

The Buizel flicked his tail, raising a heavy cloud of mist in the surrounding area. The Ishi warrior came to a halt and sniffed the air suspiciously. Dicentra's eyes narrowed as he did his best to thicken the haze.

"Hey, teleport us into a tree." He whispered into the psychic type's ear. Chester nodded and they suddenly landed in a mess of leaves and branches. Dicentra released his hug around the eon and stared down at the approaching foes.

"W-what are you going to do?" Chester piped up as quietly as he could. The Buizel sighed and jumped onto a lower branch.

"You need to go and keep teleporting to the Carina camp." He said suddenly, a small smile on his face. "There, you can find this cute, feisty Umbreon named Grey. Tell him that 'his sweet Dicentra' sent you. If he's in a good mood, he'll probably help you out, at least a little bit."

"B-but what about you?" The psychic type stuttered. Dicentra waved his paws dismissively.

"I'm gonna stay here and keep our little nosy visitors company." He grinned, showing off his sharp fangs. "I _am_ the Beast of the Ishi after all."

Chester shuddered as he watched the water type leap into the fray. Despite only knowing him for a couple minutes, he could help but worry about this Dicentra. Maybe he's not such a bad guy if they had met under difference circumstances. The psychic type gulped and teleported again, disappearing into the bramble. Right now he needed to get to the Carina, and find help.

**(…)**

Ren glanced up wearily as his denmate approached him. He sighed. What did that Glaceon even want? Ok, so Frost knows about his little hate for outsiders now. Aaaand he was probably in one of those 'oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for you!' phases. Really now, Ren's been getting those stupid pity parties all his life after his little brother died. And they're getting real annoying.

Frost trotted up before him. His little blue paws were fidgeting slightly as he looked up, staring into the electric type's amber eyes with a mixture of weariness and another unreadable emotion.

"So, what do you want, kit?" The Luxio mumbled. "If you're about to start ranting to me about how sorry you are or other useless shit-"

"I won't apologize." Frost stated, an odd tone lingering in his speech. Ren frowned.

"What?"

"I said I won't apologize," The ice fox repeated, a bit louder. He smiled a bit. "Sure, you might hate me or some other outsider, but I don't regret all those times I've bothered or ticked you off for one bit. You pretty much asked for it anyway."

Ren did his best to scowl, resisting the small smile that was forming on his face. "You're such a kit," He sighed. "It looks like things aren't gonna be any different now that you know about… you know."

"Nope! I'm still gonna annoy the heck out of you every day!" Frost giggled and gave Ren's neck a quick, affectionate nuzzle. The Luxio blushed and looked away. Seriously, what was this kid's problem? Why is he so…nice to him? Not that he was complaining but still… AARRRRGGHHH WHY DOES FROST MAKE HIM FEEL SO FUZZY ON THE INSIDE?!

"Ah-hem." The sharp sound of Grey clearing his throat shook them out of their daze. "I'd hate to break up this _**lovely**_ moment with you lovebirds, but we should probably escort Mist back to the Mizu now. Oh, and please make sure to keep your PDA to a minimum. There_ is_ a little kit here after all."

"P-PDA?!" Frost stuttered and turned deep shade of scarlet while Ren just huffed indignantly. Grey smirked knowingly at the two of them before making his way toward the rest of the group, where Cloud, Fern, and the Mizu warrior waited.

Their little walk to the lake was free of Frost-and-Ren PDA, much to Grey's relief. Instead, it was chockfull of Fern giving Cloud hugs and kisses and telling him how hot and manly he looked. Everyone felt some sympathy toward Cloud except for probably Mist, who was quietly fangirling over the pair as she carried her baby.

Despite the somewhat peaceful stroll, Grey was growing rather fidgety. The dark type was constantly glancing over his shoulder with a worried face and frequently sniffed the air as if looking for something. As they neared the lake and its sandy shores, the dark fox whispered urgently to his denmates as they walked, trying to get their attention.

"Hm? What is it?" Frost asked, quite perplexed by Umbreon's behavior. Ren seemed to stiffen as he leaned in closer to join the quiet conversation.

"We're being watched," Grey hissed quietly. His rings were glowing as he picked up the surrounding vibes. "And not by just a couple people. There's probably almost fifty of them hiding around us. They haven't made any moves yet, but I'm sure they will as soon as Mist leads them to the Mizu camp."

"Pfft, those Ishi thugs just don't give up, do they?" Ren growled, small sparks flying from his forehead.

"We should probably take them out here before any harm can be done to the Mizu," Cloud suggested quietly as he continued to walk with the group at a steady pace. "We should probably cover Mist and her kit while they get into the water though. They're not even close to being able to fight."

The group was quick to agree.

Grey was the first to make a move. A number of Shadow Balls suddenly shot into the sand around them, kicking up a heavy dust cloud. Cloud himself, raised a thick layer of Powder Snow over it to further handicap the Ishi's vision as Mist and her kit took a dash toward the water.

Almost immediately, the entire group of Ishi warriors came running out of the trees and shrubbery, fangs bared. Ren snarled and took a leap at one of them, Thunder Fang at the ready. Tackling a nearby Arcanine roughly into the sand, he sank his teeth into the fire type's shoulder and emptied volt after volt of electricity into it, knocking him out instantly. The sounds of everyone else fighting around him drove the Luxio on.

Ren stood up from atop the Arcanine, glaring around him apprehensively. He was surrounded by at least five angry Houndoom, all preparing to fire him into his grave. Thinking quickly, Ren shot multiple streaks of lightning at the enemies' feet, instantly turning the sand into molten glass. The five fire types shrieked as the hot glass burned at their skin as they sank into the ground like quicksand.

Adrenaline was speeding through his veins as Ren stared around eagerly for another opponent, not noticing a Manectric lunging at him from behind. He managed to turn around at the last minute to see claws inches away from his face.

Suddenly, a mad rush of water shot out from the lake like a cannon and slammed into the wolf-like Pokemon, tossing him viciously into the air. Ren was bewildered, trying to identify his savior.

"Way to go Delf!" A familiar voice cried out. All of a sudden Pine and a Dewott was joining the fray, knocking multiple Ishi warriors out of the way as they did so.

"You alright there?" Delf asked and gave Ren a questioning look. The Luxio grunted a yes, still rather uncomfortable with the Mizu's presence. The Dewott seemed to understand and continued on blasting the oncoming foes with jets of pressurized water.

Their battle seemed to wear on longer than they thought. Just when they were close to finishing all of them off, reinforcements arrived to replace their fallen comrades. The seven Carina and Mizu were growing exhausted, all of them struggling to catch their breath. Cloud seemed especially stressed, his every muscle burning with unidentified pain. Fern frequently shot worried glances at his mate.

Ren on the other hand, had an ingenious idea. "Hey, Mizu!"

"What?" A tired Delf asked wearily.

"Is it possible for you to raise the tide a little?" The Luxio questioned, panting slightly as he dodged another attack.

The Dewott frowned. "Yeah but…what would that do? It's not going to be very deep-"

"It doesn't have to be!" Ren interrupted, a smug smirk appearing on his face. "Just do it! I have an idea. Now Frost, Cloud, could you two raise a circular wall of ice around all of us? It needs to be very thick."

The others in the group exchanged perplexed looks, but followed Ren's orders. The two Glaceon brothers both took deep breaths and focused. Slowly, a thick wall of ice crystals started to form around them and instantly shot up at least twenty meters into the air, giving them complete coverage. Delf placed both his paws on the sandy ground. Slowly, but surely, the water level of the lake rose to and covered the entire beach, forcing everyone outside the ice wall to stand in at least two inches of water.

Ren grinned at the setup and glanced at the gaping opening of the ice wall that gave them a clear view of the sky. He too, focused. Strings of electricity and lightning cackled from his mane and flew over the opening of the ice wall and hissed fiercely into the water on the outside.

"Are you trying to electrocute all of them through the water?" Fern asked, staring at the Luxio nervously. Sounds of Ishi warriors clawing at the walls could be heard. "That won't work. There's a bunch of Manectric out there with the Lightning Rod ability."

"I'm not _trying_ to electrocute them," Ren smirked. The trails of electricity from him to the water glowed brighter as more of it flowed. A suspicious hissing began to sound from the water as an odd vapor rose from the tide.

"What are you trying to do?" Frost asked wearily while reinforcing the ice wall that was currently under assault. Ren smirked.

"Do you know what water is made out of?" The Luxio grinned triumphantly. The ice fox looked confused.

"Water? Um…it has oxygen and hydrog-" Realization dawned on him as the vapor on the outside grew thicker and thicker.

"Yeah, oxygen and hydrogen." The constant flow of electricity from his mane slowed to a stop. Ren took a deep breath and looked up. "With this much of the stuff in the air, I can easily do this!"

A sharp, discharge of lightning flew out of their little encasement of ice and fell upon the vapors outside. There was an instant explosive reaction. The very air seemed to burst aflame and swallow the entire force of attackers, engulfing the entire area in a sea of fire. Screams and shrieks of the canines outside bellowed into the afternoon sky, but soon dissipated with the flames. The sickly smell of burnt flesh and ashes wafted through the air as the hellish blast slowly faded away.

There was a sudden crackle, and the icy walls around them crumpled and fell into a thousand pieces, revealing the land around them. The little group stood shocked. Charred bodies littered the ground, making the whole place seem more fitting in a horror movie. All was quiet.

Ren glanced at the carnage nonchalantly and trotted over toward the forest. There was not another living Ishi in sight.

"Come on, it's over." The Luxio muttered quietly. The others were too flabbergasted to follow, except Fern and Cloud, to whom this bloodshed was far too familiar. A soft wind blew over the lake and stirred up the ashes, making them dance sadly in the afternoon breeze. Suddenly, Frost felt his fur stand on end.

"MOVE!"

The world slowed. Ren only felt another body colliding with his before knowing something was wrong. The Luxio twisted his head just enough to see a flying shower of blood, followed by a scream. He felt his blood run cold.

Ren and the body next to him landed on the bloody sand with a sickening thud. His mind was in a complete garble as he gaped down at the sight in complete utter shock.

"Kit?" He whispered. Ren felt a rush of relief fill his chest when the sound of the ice fox's panting reached his ears.

There was scarlet covering the Glaceon's head. A deep, horizontal cut now slides cleanly across his face over his two eyes. Blood was dripping everywhere, forming a puddle in the burnt sand.

"Hey! Are you ok?!" Tears were soaking into Ren's fur as he gently nudged his denmate, fear streaking through his heart. "Answer me! Please…"

"…I…" Frost's voice shuddered, filled with silent terror. "…I c-can't see…"

Fern was immediately by his side. The glow of Synthesis filled the air, shining on the injured eon. The bleeding slowed to a stop, and the ice fox's breathing slowed to gentle sleeping puffs. The Leafeon glanced up, an agonized expression plastered upon his face.

"H-he'll live," Fern whispered, doing his best not to stutter. "But I can't save his eyes…"

Ren was shaking violently. What the hell happened? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?! He suddenly heard a furious growl fill the air.

Cloud was glowering furiously at a dark shadow standing by the water's edge. It was a huge Absol, but unlike any he has ever seen. He had fur as black as night, glistening in the wind. Whereas the species' scythe was usually black as well, this Absol's blade was as white as the moon. The air seemed to grow heavy with a murderous aura as he casually strolled toward them, his blood-red eyes shining with something beyond bloodlust.

Cloud swung his head toward Ren, who was still standing in shock next to the fading body of Frost.

"Go! Get him out of here!" He barked. The Luxio didn't hesitate before gently placing the younger ice fox on his back and running back toward camp with Grey following closely behind. The black Absol didn't so much as glance at them.

"Why hello there Cloud," The Disaster Pokemon smiled, almost respectfully at him. "It's been quite a while since we last met. I hope your bad health hasn't caught up to our so-called prodigy."

"Night," The older Glaceon sibling spat at him with disgust. "I see you've been pretending to be Alpha for the last couple years. You really have changed…"

"But it seems like I'm the one who changed to for the better," Night sneered down at Cloud's exhausted body. "I've surpassed you in every shape and form. Are you still strong enough to freeze down the entire forest like you did four years ago? Or are you just a frail little bag of skin an bones?"

Cloud glared back at him with his icy eyes. "You've changed quite a bit too. How will you ever face your sister?"

Night snapped. A flying wall of wind slammed into the Glaceon and sent him flying back several meters. He watched with a sneer as Cloud yelped in pain and struggled to get back on his feet. The black Absol was suddenly upon and stomped on the Carina's chest with his paw. He leaned close and snarled into Cloud's ear.

"Dusk is no sister of mine. And don't you dare forget it."

**(…)**

"Is he going to be alright?" Ren stuttered frantically as soon as Grey stepped out of the medicine den. The dark type looked up at him sadly with a tired gaze.

"He'll be fine but…I don't think he'll ever see out of those eyes again. They were crushed when he was hit…" Grey whispered. He turned back toward the opening of the den. "He awake now, if you want to talk to him."

Ren gulped before taking a small step into the den. At the center of the little room, Frost was huddled in a small nest, tears slowly seeping down from his closed eyelids. The sight made his heart tighten in his chest. He walked quietly toward the small ice fox and laid by his side.

Frost said nothing when he felt their warm pelts pressing together. His little body was shivering like a fragile leaf caught in a storm. Ren reached over and gave his cheek a lick, doing his best to soothe him.

The ice fox faced him with a mix of fear and grief. "Why are you still here?"

"Hm? What do you mean?" The Luxio was startled.

"I'm can't see anymore! I'll never be a warrior! The moment I lost my eyesight, I lost my right to be a Carina apprentice!" Frost cried. "You don't have to pretend to look after me anymore! I'm not your denmate! You're not my leader! So why are you still here?!"

Ren stared at him, shocked. Then, a small, sad smile crept across his face as he continued to lick Frost's cheek.

"Is that how you've been thinking of me the whole time?" He mumbled quietly.

"…" The ice fox hesitated. "…n-no…But there's no reason for you to like me. I'm an outsider. A nuisance. And you hated me… There's no reason for you to stay with me anymore."

Ren sighed. He was really bad at mushy situations like this. _Time to wing it…_

Frost yelped when he suddenly felt a pair of warm lips pressing against his own. He was shocked. Ren was…kissing him? The ice fox was too stupefied to return the gesture. His denmate chuckled lightly when they parted.

"W-what was that-?"

"I love you…" Ren whispered. "More than anything else in the world. So don't you dare start thinking like some idiot, cuz I need you here with me. You'll always be my denmate and you'll always be my closest friend…Frost…"

The Glaceon sat there, dazed, before splitting into a wide smile. "That's the first time you called me by my name."

"I like calling you 'kit' better," Ren laughed and pressed their foreheads together, smiling warmly. "Anyway, it doesn't matter to me whether you can see or not, whether you can fight or not. As Arceus as my witness, I will always stay by your side and never let your go. I'll be there for you through the good and bad, and you can always find me when you need me and I'll give my all to fulfill your every wish. No matter what happens…I'll love you forever…"

Frost smiled with his head pressed into Ren's shoulder, tears streaming down from his now sightless eyes. The sound of the Luxio's loving speech and comforting voice flooded him with warmth, lulling him to a tired, well-deserved sleep.

Ren felt his own heart beating rapidly as he watched his denmate's sleeping face. He may have managed to say all that, but…the Luxio gulped. How was he ever going to manage to tell Frost that he just recited a lover's pact to him?

**(…)**

Directly outside of the den that housed the sleeping couple, an unwanted listener growled, fury welling up inside her. Cherry glared at the Glaceon with pure hatred. How dare this filthy human pet get between her and Ren! That Luxio was supposed to be hers and hers alone! Her fangs gritted together as a plan slowly took form in her mind. Yes…this stupid little ice fox was going to pay.


	11. To Meet Again

Grey felt a sense of unease sweep through him as he paced back and forth across the Carina camp. Who was that black Absol that they saw earlier? The Umbreon was almost sure that he's heard his voice sometime before. Who was he? And how did he know Cloud? The two of them seemed to know each other quite well. And this Absol known as Night…he was definitely strong. Grey could practically feel the vibes of energy coming off of him almost burning up the air. He certainly hoped the two Eons facing him would be ok—

"GREEEEYYYYY~"

"The hell—?" The blind healer jumped in shock. Fern was prancing his way toward the camp with that idiotic smile plastered across his face. Cloud was not far behind. "How heck did you guys get back so quickly?! Did you beat Night?"

"Haha! Of course we did! It was a piece of cake," Fern laughed jovially. "That guy dropped like a sack of potatoes!"

"That's only because you kicked him in the… nevermind," Cloud heaved an exasperated sigh. Looking toward Grey, his face turned serious. "How's Frost doing?"

"He's alive and stable, if that's what you mean." The Umbreon sighed and jerked his head toward the medicine den. "The kid was practically a nervous wreck when he woke up. Ren managed to calm him down, but the real problem is his eyes. There's no way I can think of to heal them completely. It doesn't look like he'll see out of them ever again."

"Oh don't worry. I have a plan," Fern grinned. "There _is_ a way of giving him back his eyes." The happy-go-lucky healer's expression suddenly turned solemn. He glanced toward his mate and a silent exchange was made. Grey narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"What are you planning to do?" The dark-type asked in a low voice. Fern immediately reverted back to his stupid grin.

"Oh you'll see~ In the meantime, Cloud and I will need to be alone with Frost in the medicine den in order to do what we need to do. Could you ask Kara and Noru to make sure no one disturbs us?"

"Sure but…" Grey sighed and looked away. "…just don't do anything stupid, alright?"

Fern looked confused, before suddenly laughing like an idiot. "Aw, Grey! You do care~"

"Sh-shut up!" The blind healer scowled before scurrying toward Kara and Noru's den. Though he'd hate to admit it, he felt the weight on his chest lighten slightly from his stupid mentor's cheery antics. They better not do something stupid though. He has enough to worry about as it is.

Without bothering to knock, Grey poked his head into the Ninetails twins' den, only to be met with the sound faint groans. After first he thought one of them was hurt, but after closer observation the sounds they made were rather…sensual. Sighing tiredly, he cleared his throat.

"I'd _hate _to interrupt you lovebirds, but Fern told me to tell you two something—"

"EEEEKKK!" Noru shrieked and desperately attempted to cover himself (it's not like Grey could **see** them anyway). That of course was impossible since the Ninetails was pinned down in a quite revealing position by his brother. The smell of musk and sex was heavy in the air and Grey didn't want to even _think_ of what they were doing together.

Kara glared at the healer from on top of his brother, a couple specks of white hanging from his chin. "Kid, you mind?"

"-Fern said that you two need to make sure no one enters or disturbs the medicine den until he says so." Grey continued, not even fazed. "I would recommend that you finish up quickly and DO YOUR FUCKING JOB INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY FUCKING!"

A thick, awkward silence hung in the air. The Ninetails twins gaped in horror as half the clan heard Grey's little outburst. The Umbreon left the den with a satisfied grin on his face as a rather large crowd began gathering around the enclosure, all wanting to get a good look. Served them right for being such idiots.

Grey sighed and made his way out into the forest. Maybe a short stroll would clear his mind.

**(…)**

Chester shivered nervously as he dashed through the forest vegetation. He teleported another eighty meters further into Carina territory before pausing for a bit, panting slightly. It's been about a quarter of an hour since he left Dicentra, but he still hasn't found this 'Grey' that the Buizel was talking about.

Apparently he was a grumpy Umbreon, but that wasn't much to go off of. Chester leaped up into a tree and glanced around apprehensively. If he was caught by someone other than this 'Grey', he would be treated as an enemy, no questions asked. To be honest, he wasn't even sure he should even find this Grey. Why would a Carina go out of his way to help him? Despite all the possibilities, he could help but think about how small the chances would be.

Glancing down, the Espeon gasped in surprise as he spotted a dark figure wading his way through the thickets of the forest. Was it him? Chester was about to move closer when a sudden sharp pain permeated his skull. The world spun around him wildly. His breath caught in his throat as he plummeted from his perch and onto the forest floor.

"Hmph, I thought I heard someone sneaking around," an annoyed voice grumbled. Chester looked up hesitantly and found himself face to face with the glaring grey eyes of an Umbreon. He gulped and shivered as the other eon studied him carefully. "…you're from the Ishi, aren't you?"

The dark-type's tone wasn't threatening. In fact it sounded more like bored exasperation.

"So, what are you doing here in Carina territory? What do you want?" The Umbreon huffed.

"I-I was told t-to find s-someone called G-Grey!" Chester squeaked, shaking violently as he tried to inch away from him. The Umbreon sighed.

"I used Mean Look earlier, so don't even think about escaping. Now, who sent you here?"

"U-um, I think his n-name was D-Dicentra. He s-said to go f-find a 'cute feisty Umbreon' and-"

The Carina's nostrils flared and a vein seemed to pop on his forehead. "WHAT THE HELL DID HE CALL ME?!"

Chester nearly jumped ten feet in shock. But nevermind that. The small bubble of hope that had been swelling inside of him popped. _This_ is Grey? This mean-looking grump was supposed to help him?! What was Dicentra thinking?! The Espeon dug in his mind for anything useful that the Buizel has said.

"Um… uh… Your 'sweet Dicentra' said that you'd help us!" Chester blurted out suddenly. He closed his eyes and reared back, ready for another outburst. But nothing happened. Looking back up, he saw the Umbreon's face swelled with an interesting shade of scarlet. He looked like he wanted to yell or something, but gave up with a sigh.

"That little son of a— I'm gonna murder him when find him," The dark-type hissed to no one in particular. He turned towards Chester. "Anyway, I'm Grey and I can't say that I'm glad to meet you. Now what does that bitch want with me?"

"Uh…um…" Chester shuffled his paws nervously. "Well, I think the Ishi's trying to kill Dicentra for some reason, so we tried to teleport away. But then we got caught and—"

"Where is he?" Grey snapped, suddenly serious. Chester stared into the other eon's eyes. As grumpy and annoyed as he was, those grey eyes showed a slight bit of worry. A small smile slid across the Espeon's face as he continued.

"H-he's by the river, fighting the other Ishi warriors. They're—" Before he could even finish his sentence, the dark-type was gone, leaving nothing but a trail of dust.

**(…)**

Grey's paws hit the forest floor at a rapid pace as he dashed toward the river bordering the two clan territories. His thoughts raced with anxiety and confusion. Dicentra was strong, no doubt, but he couldn't help distressing over his safety- ugh, why would he care? It's not like he was worried about him or anything! He wouldn't give a shit if Dicentra dropped dead and got eaten-

The blind healer gritted his teeth as he kept on running. All personal thoughts aside, he was probably the cause for Dicentra's current predicament. That idiot decided to lie to his Alpha for him didn't he? He's just helping out because he's partially responsible for this mess, not because he _cares_ about Dicentra's wellbeing. Never.

Grey skidded to a halt as he neared the river. The smell of blood was thick in the air and the grass was moist with the coppery liquid. Was the battle already over? The blind perked his head up as the Espeon from earlier teleported next to him. The little guy 'eeped!' in shock and had to stop himself from retching. He ignored him.

Closing his eyes, the dark-type reached out with his mind. The vibes weaving through his mind were obviously those of the dead. Their wounds were rather deep and vicious, clearly made with killing intent. The injuries were all very similar too; a sharp gash from the back of the neck and back that broke the spine with a clean slash. Blood pooled out of the bodies and trickled into the river, dyeing it scarlet. It doesn't seem like there were any survivors…

A hesitant poke on the shoulder brought Grey out of his thoughts. The Espeon (Chester, right?) was shivering with shock, pointing at something floating in the now red river. The healer frowned suspiciously before narrowing his senses into that general area. Grey gasped.

"Dicentra!" He bolted into the stream, struggling frantically against the current toward the motionless body submerged in the water. Grabbing the Buizel by the scruff of the neck, he dragged him carefully to shore, making sure not to hurt him. The water-type slumped on the forest floor, looking more like a soaked bundle of tangled fur than an actual living being.

"I-is he alright?" Chester stuttered anxiously, hovering his head over the unconscious Ishi.

Grey barely registered what the psychic-type said. He immediately pressed his ear against Dicentra's drenched chest, sighing in relief when a soft heartbeat replied. The healer looked up at Chester, his mind going a mile a minute.

"He's alive but we need to get him help right away," Grey said, chewing on his lip. "Can you teleport us to one of my secret dens? It's a little bit away from here."

Chester nodded nervously before putting a paw on both Grey and Dicentra, concentrating on the landscape. Suddenly, they were standing at the mouth of a small den made against the side of a cliff. The wind was whistling gently overhead and the soft grass under their feet gave off a warm, refreshing scent.

Grey immediately got to work carrying the comatose Dicentra into the den, laying him down on a bed of cozy grass and Caterpie silk. Looking over him quickly, the healer felt the weight on his heat lighten a bit. The Buizel had a dark bruise on his shoulder, along with several deep cuts going down his back. Although they looked very painful, they weren't life-threatening.

Grey looked up. The ceiling of the den was decorated with countless numbers of small stones, all of them glimmering in what seemed like liquid moonlight. He quietly plucked one from the structure and placed it next to the sleeping water-type. And with that, he was ready.

Pressing his head against his patient's forehead, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Gradually, his heartbeat slowed to match the low beating of the sleeping Buizel's chest. Grey's glowing yellow rings began illuminating the dimly lit den and mixed in with the milky shine of the stone that lay beside them, filling the room with warmth. A soft hiss was heard and gradually, the wounds littering Dicentra's body began closing up, looking as though they were at least a week old. The water-type's breathing slowly evened out and the color returned to his face.

Leaning back from his patient, Grey took a deep breath and looked over his handiwork. _This dumbass never stays out of trouble, does he?_ The healer sighed with a small smile etched across his face. Dicentra looked so peaceful when he was asleep. Before he realized what he was doing, the Umbreon had placed a soft kiss on the unconscious water-type's cheek.

"EEP!"

_Oh shit, _Grey cursed angrily. He completely forgot that Chester was still here. The Espeon's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, eyes darting between him and the prone Buizel lying on his lap. His face suddenly burned with an indignant blush.

"W-what? Got a problem?!" Grey snapped, his voice jumping an octave higher than usual. Chester stared at the dark-type incredulously, his gaze falling on a faded scar on his shoulder.

"Y-y-you're marked!" The Espeon gaped. "D-does that m-mean you two are mates?!"

"MATES?!"

If looks could kill, Chester would have died five times before hitting the ground. Grey's face was glowing with a rather interesting shade of scarlet as he glared at the psychic-type with a mixed expression. Despite the healer's annoyance, his face was completely hilarious. Kind of cute too.

"W-who would want to be mates with this asshole?" Grey's stuttering made him sound exactly like Aster. "He's an obnoxious idiot! I-I-I'm just helping because…because I'm a just trying to be nice! T-that's it!"

Chester continued to stare, a teasing smile slowly stretching across his face. "Reeeeally? Then why did you kiss him just now?"

"T-that's b-b-because—" Grey felt his brain fry up from the heat burning at his face. "It's none of your business!" The blind healer took long deep breaths, trying his best to stop his heart from going on overdrive. "A-anyway, who are you? A friend of his?"

The smile immediately faded from the other eon's face. The Espeon suddenly found the rocks at his feet incredibly fascinating and stared at them like his life depended on it.

"Are you going to answer or not?" Grey pressed, a tinge of impatience in his tone. Chester sighed.

"I-I'm just an Ishi sex slave," he whispered, his voice barely audible. He started shivering again. Was he going to hate him? Be disgusted? He wanted to just run out of the den and disappear. But before he could even take a single step, he heard a funny choking sound coming from the other eon.

Chester looked up, confused. Grey had a look of absolute horror mixed with confusion and embarrassment plastered on his scarlet face. His mouth was hanging open in shock, his eyes darting between the Espeon and the Dicentra's sleeping form.

"Y-y-y-you! A-a-and h-h-h-him—!"

Realization suddenly dawned on him.

"W-what? No! We never did anything weird or—"

"Gah! You Ishi are a bunch of perverts!"

"Hey! It's n-n-not like I wanted to live like this!"

"Yeah right! I bet you secretly enjoy your job!"

"What kind of person s-s-says stuff like that?!"

A loud groan interrupted their little argument. Dicentra had a paw over his eyes, a tired moan rumbling from his throat. He glanced up at Grey, and then to Chester. He covered his eyes again.

"You two are cute, but way too loud." The Buizel chuckled and buried his head into his mate's furry chest. "You're lucky I like you so much~"

"And you're lucky that you're not dead," Grey hissed with annoyance, though his voice betrayed a bit of relief. "You seem to like getting yourself into trouble, don't you?"

"Well, at least I know my sweet, feisty mate will always be here to help out~" Dicentra smirked pleasantly before giving the Umbreon a friendly lick on the cheek.

Grey's face jumped another shade of red. "I'M NOT YOUR MATE! A-a-anyway, why are you hanging around with someone like _him?_" He jerked his head toward Chester. The Espeon's ears drooped.

Dicentra glanced at the other Ishi and raised an eyebrow, a knowing grin etched across his face. "Oh? Don't tell me you're jealous?"

"Jealous?! Of course n-not! Why the hell would I be jealous—"

"You're jealous~" The Buizel decided and gave the healer a quick peck on the lips. "But don't worry! You'll always be my loving mate~"

Grey averted his eyes and hoped to Arceus that his blush wasn't showing through his fur. "I really hate you, you know that?"

"Love you too my love," Dicentra cooed.

**(…)**

Grey learned something very important today. Dicentra was _very_ long winded. He went into a bit too much detail telling about how he and Chester escaped. He seemed to enjoy explaining exactly what happened between Chester and the Mightyena, describing every aspect and even went as far as imitating the sounds the two of them made.

Needless to say, the Espeon was an embarrassed mess by the time he was finished. Grey glanced at him sympathetically, thinking back about his encounters with Dicentra. The Buizel pretty much did the same thing to him, didn't he? Of course, in Grey's case, he liked it- _hell no. _Did he just think that?

Grey shook his head, attempting to clear his thoughts. No, he had to focus on a more pressing matter. What was he going to do with the two Ishi? It's not as if he could bring them into the Carina camp (unless of course if they wanted to die). Maybe they can stay here until Dicentra fully recovered. But then what? Grey's head was swimming with wild, confused thoughts.

"Something wrong?" Dicentra suddenly piped up, draping an arm over Grey's shoulder. The Umbreon tensed from the close contact. "You look a bit stressed out, love."

_Since when was my name 'love'?!_ Grey sighed with exasperation. "No, nothing's wrong. Just shut up and let me think."

"Are you worried about what to do with us?" The Buizel said suddenly, his face etched with a soft smile. "Heh, don't worry! I don't need a clan to survive. As soon as I'm well enough again, we can just go off on our own. Being loners doesn't sound too bad, and I can come visit you from time to time. Plus, I'm the strongest warrior there is! There's nothing that can trouble me!"

"That cocky attitude of yours will get you killed one of these days," Grey sighed while hiding a smile. "Alright, but make sure to come back every so often, ok?"

"Aw, you do care~"

"S-shut up!" The healer stuttered. "I-It's just that I-I'm a healer and I'm supposed to be taking care of my patients!"

"Ok, whatever you say my lo-"

A sudden crash from the outside of the den interrupted their conversation. Chester came running into the enclosure wearing a panicked look, sweat gleaming from his forehead. He skid to a stop in front of the other two, gasping deeply for breath. Grey placed a paw on the other Eon's back, stroking his fur slowly as to calm him down. Dicentra gave his fellow fugitive a look of concern.

"Hey, something wrong? Do you need some water or-"

Chester shook his head forcefully, a dark and serious expression shadowing his eyes. After finally catching his breath, the psychic type managed to finally gasp out the new.

"Th-they're b-being attacked! The Ishi and Bosque are besieging the Carina!"


End file.
